Five Lessons I’ve Learned About Managing Partner Leadership

Five Lessons I’ve Learned About Managing Partner Leadership

Lawyers are bright, independent thinkers who want to go, without any interference or correction whatsoever, at whatever pace and in whatever direction they choose for themselves. Never mind the consequences. Seen that way, the role of the managing partner is inevitably and perpetually frustrating, if not downright impossible. Fortunately, I know from experience that managing partner leadership doesn’t need to be that way. How so?

I joined Brooks Pierce straight out of law school in 1977. I’ve not worked anywhere else. While that certainly has made for some blind spots – because I’ve not personally experienced how other law firms operate – it also has given me a long time to work together with my partners. I know them well; they know me well. There is no substitute for the trusted relationships that result from our knowledge and understanding of each other.

I also came into my role as managing partner with the benefit of having worked on important assignments and in important roles at the firm, including serving as our general counsel and a member of our management committee. Therefore, when I became our managing partner in 2016, I was familiar with the issues of law firm management and had experience in resolving those issues. 

Even with my background, however, I knew that being a member of the management committee and being the managing partner are two distinctly different things. Following are five keys I recommend to all law firm leaders.

1. Learn, study and practice the skills of effective leadership.

Fortunately, one of my wise partners pointed me to The Leaders’ Roundtable provided by the Bell Leadership Institute. It was an excellent and intensive one-year-long program. Through it, I learned the qualities and skills of effective leadership. I came to understand and appreciate important principles of organizational psychology. 

2. Establish a network of advisers outside of the firm and consult them regularly.

Through that leadership training program, I also met accomplished executive officers from half a dozen companies. They became my friends and confidants. To this day, I can call any of them for help. And I do. They, along with the managing partners of other law firms, have been generous in testing my assumptions and beliefs and in sharing perspectives and advice. Throughout my time as managing partner, especially during the awful time of the pandemic, their counsel has been invaluable.

3. Effective delegation is essential for leadership success.

Among the many lessons I have learned is that, as a leader, you simply can’t do everything yourself – or if you do, you won’t be accomplishing very much. You must instead learn to delegate and then support the person to whom you’ve assigned responsibility. Sometimes, that means backing a decision that is different than your own would have been. Those decisions can turn out to be bad decisions, but so long as they have been made ethically and responsibly, it will be okay. People can make mistakes, learn from the experience and become better at what they do. And in considering what receives your attention and what does not, the advice from Winston Churchill is still true: “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”

4. Know your partners, listen to them carefully, show you care, then decide and communicate the decision clearly.

There is more to the successful motivation of your partners than just numbers and logic. They want to know, first, that you genuinely care about them and, second, that you understand them. Showing those things requires giving them your full attention and listening carefully. It also requires your acknowledgment of the feelings they have about issues affecting them at work. Once you have demonstrated that you care and you have acknowledged their feelings, they can accept your decision. Be certain, however, to communicate the decision clearly. If you allow compassion to muddy your words, your credibility and your reputation will suffer. 

5. Constantly think long-term and plan for the time when you are no longer there. 

Brooks Pierce is 127 years old. I knew when I became managing partner that if I did the job well and didn’t mess things up too badly, there would be a law firm that carried on after me. Part of my work every year, therefore, is to consider what my partners will want our law firm to be like when I am no longer the managing partner. What do we need to do today and tomorrow to move us forward in that direction? How can I help? That has been one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of my work. 

When you do all those things, you will be happy at your work. Through effective managing partner leadership, you will create an environment for each individual partner and lawyer to thrive. Together, we are stronger than our individual parts. That is a great experience.