Are You Being Held Hostage in Your Law Firm?

What I mean by this is what’s preventing you from achieving your goals as an attorney?  What’s holding you back?  Is it a person, process, structure, culture….what is it?  Is it you?

The first step in moving forward is defining exactly where you are, what is the reality of the situation?  Is there a person within the firm that is not working at their full potential or are they not being properly utilized or managed?  Is there redundancy and overlap, thus creating ineffectiveness or inefficiency?   Does the structure of the firm restrict growth and change?  Is the culture of the firm one of “silos” vs. collaboration?  Is the culture of the firm without standards or guiding principles?

Or could it be that you are getting in the way of achieving your own success?  Do you spend more time arguing with yourself about matters vs. just going out and getting it done?  Do you choose to be passive when it comes to cultivating new clients or matters?   So what is it, what’s holding you back?  Is it one thing or multiple things?  Do you have the ability to influence the outcome?

Step two, once you’ve identified your reality you will need to determine the best strategy to resolve or fix the issue(s) that are holding you back.  If it’s a people problem, invest time in reviews and corrective action plans.   Allow the person to exceed or leave.  If it’s a process problem seek internal and external resources to help you develop systems that will provide you and your firm streamline results.  If you are up against a structure issue propose alternatives, it’s much easier to evaluate written proposals vs. verbal concepts and ideas.  If it’s the firms culture holding you hostage revaluate the firm’s mission and vision and make sure it aligns with your personal mission and vision.  If so, begin asking questions about methodology that contradicts the firm’s mission and vision.  Seeking clarity is a way for others to begin asking questions and ultimately create cultural change.  If the mission and vision of the firm is in conflict with your personal mission and vision it may be time for you to change, by changing firms.

If you’ve concluded that you are the obstacle to your own success, and we all are to some degree.  Then define and take action on what it is you need to change. Set priorities and begin making incremental change.  Remember none of this is easy and it takes time, but if you’re determined to achieve your goals and become successful it’s worth the investment.  Don’t fall victim to having someone or something dictate your future success.