Law Practice Today

I had my best boss a very long time ago. It's almost embarrassing how long ago it was. Not that I haven't had other good supervisors, but this one was extraordinary. I wasn't the only person who thought so. He received a national organization's award in his field for being at the top of his profession as a leader at a young age. It was said at the event honoring him that he was the only person in the history of the association who was able to invite his parents to the ceremony. Most other winners had been honored at the end of their careers, virtually at retirement. In addition, over one hundred current and former employees of my exceptional boss showed up for the event. The good news for me is that we are still in touch. And I am pleased to say that although he lives in a state far away I have managed to see him over the years, and we talk on the phone occasionally.

For years I have thought about what qualities he possessed to make him such an extraordinary supervisor. And because I now sometimes present seminars focused on training and developing leaders, I wonder if it is possible to teach others some of the skills and behaviors that made Tom so exceptional. Here are some things that I have gleaned from my reflection, and some other general thoughts about what makes someone a good boss.

Treat Everyone Fairly, but…

One of the gifts that the Good Boss had was his ability to treat all of his employees fairly, but not necessarily the same. A reward for one person might not be a reward for another person. A motivation to work hard for one individual might not be appealing to someone else. He had an ability to recognize the differences between people and to play positively toward those differences. He knew that some employees wanted more structure than others, while some appreciated a more relaxed style of supervision. As a result – he adapted his style to the needs of the individual. At the same time he never lost sight of his overall goals. The whole organization needed certain models and standards of performance, and about those he was not flexible. In addition, those standards were made clear and communicated to everyone; repeatedly. There was no guessing game about primary expectations. But when it came to individuals, he was masterful at assisting each of us in meeting our goals – in our own way. As a result he got top performance from his people.

Create Challenges, Provide Feedback & Support

Upon reflection, it seems that I accomplished more when I worked for the Good Boss than under any other supervisor's direction. In what seemed to be an offhanded way he would throw out ideas of possible work and projects in which I might choose to be involved. He would wait for a spark of interest on my part (which was often), give me more information about the opportunity, and ask for my participation. It was a genius stroke of deployment. Of course at the same time that he was engaging me in work, he was asking other staff members for their interest in projects as well. Because he waited for our display of interest he was getting better buy in and commitment from people who chose their work than if we had simply been assigned to tasks. In addition, we were more likely to stay engaged for the duration of the work because we had chosen the subject.

I can imagine readers shaking their heads now. Who has time, you may be thinking, to ask people for their interests? There is work to be done for clients! While the upfront process will take more time, the pay off will be much greater in terms of commitment and likely outcome. Invest some time initially and you are more likely to have the right people working on the right projects. While there are times when this approach is not possible recognize that there are times when it is.

Give Positive Feedback

When working for the Good Boss not only were we likely to be involved in projects that we were interested in – we were also appreciated. It was common to receive compliments on our work, and to have our accomplishments announced at staff meetings, so that we could receive public recognition. When projects were over we celebrated our successes. This didn't necessarily mean an over the top event, but more likely a simple "thank you", heartfelt to the team.

This is an area where the legal profession could use some significant help. In a profession where it is not uncommon to hear a supervisor say, "Well they should know they are doing well, I'm not yelling at them", there is plenty of room for growth. I am constantly surprised to hear professionals talk about their supervisors yelling at them or otherwise being verbally abusive. People are rarely, if ever motivated by critical feedback, and certainly not by loud chastisement. Critiques should be delivered in private and constructively. If you are unable to deliver feedback constructively in the heat of the moment, deliver it at some other time. And saying thank you for work well done is a very low cost way to create buy in for future projects.

Share Drudgery

Not all work is interesting, or to anyone's liking. But the Good Boss passed the not-so-interesting work around in the same way that he shared the interesting projects. More likely, we would all pitch in on work that wasn't interesting; if possible all at once. That way we could see that everyone was invested in boring work and no one was receiving special dispensation from dull tasks. Although it may not be possible in a law firm to pull everyone together for the boring work; at least make sure that everyone gets his or her fair share.

Recognize Everyone's Strengths

Just because we all worked for the Good Boss, it didn't necessarily mean that we all liked each other or got along all of the time. Like any diverse group, there were differences in personalities and styles. But our boss did not tolerate infighting or gossip. If we complained to him about another member of the team, he would reiterate their good qualities or tell us about their recent accomplishments. He did a lot to help us appreciate one another's complementary strengths, and in the end we were a pretty tight group. He took responsibility for the fact that he had hired the entire staff and he expected us to be respectful of one another.

Don't Ignore the Personal

While you don't want to intrude on your employee's personal lives – they do have one. During the time that I was working for the Good Boss, a family member ended up in the hospital in serious condition. While not overstepping boundaries, my boss made concerned inquiry about how they were doing, and made sure that my work load could accommodate this important concern. On the positive side, if one of your employees is getting married, or moving into a new home; acknowledge the new milestone. We do not live by work alone.

Hire Yourself a Good Boss

I recently spoke to a young professional who was thinking about leaving her current position. "Maybe I'm spoiled," she said, "but I want my next supervisor to be more like the person who was my first professional supervisor. He was such a great boss that I have been disappointed since. I feel like I accomplished so much in that position and that in some ways I have been thwarted by subsequent supervisors to meet my potential." I nodded in agreement. My recommendation to her was that she meet with people in her network and ask them to help her identify not simply organizations that she might want to work for; but rather specific individuals who could help provide her with the kind of growth environment she had previously experienced. It might take longer than a traditional job search, but in the end it would probably be more rewarding.

Get some Help

Where do lawyers learn how to be supervisors? Unless they have had previous employment experience before law school in another work setting, or through business management study, it is likely that their learning about supervisory skills have developed on the job. And frequently those on the job skills have come from their own supervisor who also had no training in supervision. Lawyering skills and supervisory skills are very different things. While it is important for a young attorney to develop his or her technical legal expertise, once they have reached a certain level they will be expected to supervise others. Training of a nature more formalized than simply emulating the person who supervised them would be a good investment. Good supervisors help retain employees.

Retaining Employees

It is easy to dismiss the strong impact of supervision in an organization that doesn't have a very hierarchical structure and/or a CEO. Because of the flat organizational structure of most legal organizations, and fairly autonomous departments, many attorneys are supervising just a few people – and there are often silos throughout the organization. It makes it difficult to adopt a management and supervisory process that is the same across the entire firm. But if standards and expectations are not clear and vary from one department or supervisor to another, you can be sure that junior attorneys and support staff will know. In a climate where the newest generation of employees seem comfortable changing jobs whenever they are unhappy with their current situation, being a good boss can be a key to employee retention and employee recruitment. And if you have the best bosses you can be sure the news will spread quickly. In addition, satisfied employees create better client service. Being a good boss is about more than someday being acknowledged or even getting an award. Ultimately – it's about having a more successful organization.

Wendy L. Werner is the owner and principal of Werner Associates, a legal consulting and career coaching organization.