| |
| Win Lawyer Buy in to Business Development Skills Coaching – Part 2 |
| |
|
Contact: John Gelagin and Kerry Kirton from Influence
|
| |
Last month we examined some of the difficulties law firms face when trying to build buy-in for business development skills coaching. These included lack of incentives and relevance for lawyers, fear of being perceived as "salesy", poor measurement of progress and so on.
This month we outline some solutions.
The following approach aims to establish the right conditions for a programme and ensure that any coaching works for the firm as well as the participant:
1. Make sure the lawyer knows their business development performance will be measured carefully and their performance does count towards their progress in the firm.
Give lawyers clear business development goals that they can be measured by at review time. That is, they need to know that their participation in a coaching programme and business development activities that arise from the programme will be used to measure their overall effectiveness as a lawyer.
For instance, the reviewing supervisor at year end needs to be able say ‘Your performance in business development was effective because you identified ‘x’ opportunity with ‘y’ client, you carried out effective research on the client and you packaged proposals effectively to win business with that client’.
Therefore, the wording and criteria for business development has to be specific and the firm has to be rigorous in reviewing performance.
The reviewer needs to understand business development or at the very least, be coached on giving effective feedback on business development performance and know effective business development skill when they see it.
Bonuses should be considered for business development wins and attempts at business development which follow the right process. Rewarding the good attempt and not only the win is important given that even the most effective approach to business development may take longer to convert to instructions than the typical performance review period.
A lawyer who knows that their advancement/salary is linked to the outcomes from their participation of a coaching programme is far more likely to make the time and effort to get the most out of the programme.
2. Ensure that the lawyers are applying business development skills regularly.
It is critical that the lawyers have specific, live and immediate business development responsibilities that can be referred to as part of any intensive coaching programme. If not, there is a high probability that the lawyer will struggle to relate to the coaching or may not be motivated to take part.
It’s also important that lawyers participating in any coaching programme know that they have the support and encouragement from their supervisors and the partnership. Educating the partners/supervisors about the details of any proposed coaching programme and gaining their input and support for the programme is therefore important for the success of any intensive coaching programme.
3. Select the right people with the right attitude for any longer term, business development coaching programme.
Don’t let just anyone participate in intensive advanced coaching for business development. Make it known that participants need to qualify for such a programme by meeting the following criteria:
- The candidate has to demonstrate a willingness to get involved with business development on their own initiative. Have they been prepared to give business development a go in the past without prodding from the supervisor?
- The candidate has to demonstrate a genuine desire to develop their skills in this area and overcome any reticence they may have around business development. (Establishing a basic, introductory business development programme which is open to all and observing what a lawyer does during and after the programme is a good indicator of a lawyer’s attitude)
- The candidate also needs to expressly agree to:
Work outside their comfort zone in any coaching. For instance, business development coaching can require the participant to confront the way they communicate. This can be a sensitive area for some so they need to be able to give themselves up to scrutiny.
Make a commitment of time and sustained, consistent effort over the long term. This includes attending coaching sessions, carrying out the work necessary to approach and stay in touch with clients and make proposals for specific pieces of work. They cannot be allowed to use the excuse of workload to give up on business development.
Taking a selective approach to participant involvement in intensive coaching can encourage otherwise apathetic lawyers to take a hard look at their attitude and make changes to get themselves on a programme should they want to progress with the firm.
The unique mix of challenges can conspire to make business development coaching a vexed issue for law firms. Firms need to create the right conditions before jumping into business development coaching programmes and wasting their money. Most importantly, they should invest most in legal staff who have the right attitude and who are most likely to apply the skills and win the business.
John Gelagin (jgelagin@influenceaustralia.com) and Kerry Kirton (kerryk@influence.co.nz) are from Influence. Influence advises law firms on developing business.
July, 2006
|
| |
|
