ABOUT MILEI AND MANAGING PARTNERS
Argentina has become again a center of international attention through it’s newly elected president Javier Milei. Against all odds, he won against the traditional majority Peronist party with an unusual set of proposals. His extravagant style and personality also made it difficult to anticipate how he would behave as president in the midst of an unprecedent economic crisis. What kind of leadership is needed to convince a country used to live in a Peronist pattern that requires a radical change?
Despite an expected worsening of the economic situation in the first stage of his government, and after 45 days in office, he still enjoys a very high popularity and support from the Argentine society. Why?
From my perspective, three elements are key in Milei’s leadership style:
- Clear sense of mission
Throughout his campaign and in his first weeks as president he has indicated a very clear path of where he wants to lead the country. He has repeated his mission in every occasion he had the opportunity to do so. Despite his technical backround as an economist, he is using some simple concepts to help the people understand what he wants to accomplish. This clarity in proposing a radical change makes it easier for people to understand, have some hope and support the president.
- Firmness in execution
The pattern in Argentina’s history -and in many other places- is that governments make many promises during the campaign but very little is done once they take office. Milei has been so far extremely bold in his first steps and proposals, showing firmness and conviction in his ideas. Inevitably, many are reacting negatively since individual interests are compromised and affected. But he looks firm and ready to fight those reactions, negotiating in those cases where it is necessary, but without compromising the essence of the critical goals.
- Credibility
All the above give Milei a strong credibility vis-à-vis the people who voted him despite incredibly hard conditions in which the economic situation is the worst in many years. Credibility is key for people who endure hard conditions and need to believe in something that gives hope for a better future. It is lack of credibility what people have been criticizing for many years, and Milei is offering a different approach.
Managing partners are normally very clever and successful people. They have a significant reputation in the market and recognition of his/her fellow partners. They are in that post because they are powerful enough to handle the partnership. Some do better and some do worse.
However, there are few managing partners that have a clear view of where the firm should go, other than very general ideas that are shared by all partners -and normally many law firms-. Partners are busy people concentrated on their clients and work. The goals of the firm are somehow secondary to their priorities. Without a strong and engaging vision that would gather them as a group it is difficult to have a meaningful leadership, and managing partners ends up being mediators of topics discussed by the partners.
Vision is necessary but also firmness in implementing that vision is critical. This firmness implies that managing partners need to be strong and assume risks and costs in his/her job. Many managing partners prioritize having a nice relationship with all partners. Of course, this is a good thing to have, but firmness is vital and managing partners should be ready to face difficult conversations and situations when the firm`s objectives require. Soft managing partners might be nice, but they seldom achieve important results.
Vision and firmness give a critical element for any leadership: credibility. Lawyers are naturally skeptical. Trust is an element that is lacking in many law firms, just because it’s leadership does not nurture it. A lawyer by instinct finds difficult to trust. I have found many cases where, paradoxically, partners have life-long good personal relationships, but they don’t trust each other as partners. As David Maister said: “Law firms are low-trust environments”.
Credibility is built by a consistent behavior towards firm’s goals and interests. Managing partners are not hired from outside the firm. They are just another partner appointed for that job. It is easy to fall into the temptation of growing individual power and benefiting, in direct and indirect ways, individual interests. That is why managing partners need to represent a very important value in partnerships: generosity.
Life in partnerships is full of conflicts of interests, between the individuals and the firm. When firms lack a generous leadership, it is unlikely that individual partners will behave in generous ways. A clear example of generosity by the managing partner will increase his/her credibility towards the other partners and enhance the glue that is needed to operate as a collaborative group and not as scattered individuals.
If you want to make a difference in your market, your leadership needs to have a clear vision, firmness and credibility. President Milei might be facing an extremely difficult situation, but the essence of his leadership challenges is not very different from those facing law firm leaders in our region.
