ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YARDS BEHIND THE LINE: WHERE SHOULD LEADERS STAND IN THE FIRM?

“Just like me, they long to be close to you”, (THEY LONG TO BE) CLOSE TO YOU, CARPENTERS.

Being a leader in the law firm is not an easy task. Lawyers are trained to act as individuals. They are given a certain problem or challenge and they apply their knowledge and resources to solve it. Depending on the circumstances, interaction with peers and colleagues could become burdensome and inefficient. In addition, they always need to give evidence of their own individual value and skills. Sharing a space with others may trigger a need to compete for relevance and exposure. All of that creates intuitive reactions in many lawyers that affect their leadership skills and performance.

Last summer I read a wonderful novel in three books about the American Civil War written by Michael and Jeff Shaara (“The Civil War Trilogy”). Although it is written as a novel it is based on historical evidence as described from the perspective of the generals that fought that terrible war. The vast majority of soldiers were common laymen with no training and little resources. Due to continued losses in bloody battles some of those unexperienced soldiers became brigadiers, colonels and even generals much earlier than recommended. One of them was Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a university professor in Maine who volunteered for the Union Army and became a brigade general. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his outstanding courage in battle where he was injured several times but always returned to his soldiers. Battles were messy and it was often difficult to make decisions as a leader. The military manual they used at the time contained the rule “The brigade commander shall remain one hundred and fifty yards behind the line.” This rule intended to preserve the life of commanders and assure continuing leadership and perspective throughout the battle. However, some commanders stayed away from battle and their soldiers, and that provoked chaos and loss of motivation. Watching your leader fighting with you had a very powerful effect. Chamberlain was that kind of commander and that is why he gained so much respect and devotion from his troops.

On the other hand, General Lee, supreme commander of the Confederate Army, was stopped several times by his own soldiers to engage in direct battle, which happened in desperate times for his army, out of fear of losing their beloved leader in battle. These examples from both extremes show that leadership is a subtle relationship regardless of the formal authority. Different roles and situations require different solutions in the field. But one aspect appears as common to all situations: leaders have to be close to their followers, as that is perceived by the followers. Sometimes the leader might need to be physically close, and other times might not. Circumstances and intuition will dictate the better approach, but in all cases the leader need to be emotionally close and present.

After years of observing lawyers and law firms -and reflecting on my personal experience as founder and managing partner as well- I believe that becoming a good leader is one of the biggest challenges lawyers face in law firms. When lawyers need to work in teams, and supervise and train other lawyers, many of them find quite hard to find the right balance between too much and too little. Normally, leaders tend to oscillate between two extremes:

1. The Macromanaging Leader (ML). These leaders wants to be everywhere. They need to check every single detail under their supervision and take every decision. They normally have a strong working ethic and believe that an overreaching presence is a sign of commitment to the firm and the clients. At the beginning this way of functioning tends to be helpful for younger lawyers since they have a lot of exposure to the leader and they can learn by observing him or her in action. But many times this excessive participation is not so much for teaching purposes as for a personal reluctance to lose control and a lack of trust in the younger lawyers to learn their duties, even in the face of evidence to the contrary. The ML believes is a team player, but in reality he/she is not. It’s easy for the ML to lose his/her patience more often than not and complain why he/she is the only one who knows how to do things right. Normally, ML end up suffocating lawyers who would rather don’t work with them, even if they are brilliant and with tons of knowledge to share with others. ML are not great leaders because it is hard to develop as a great lawyer under their wings.
2. The Distant Leader (DL). These leaders show in a different way their individualist inclinations. The DL would rather stay away from the team interaction and look at others from a distant standpoint. All the training and supervision is boring and frustrating for them, and they would rather do things on their own. In some cases, it just happens because the DL are lazy to go through all the work that means handling a group of lawyers. Selfish DL tend to blame others for the problems and claim success for themselves, even if they had little or no participation in the matter. Lawyers always need space to grow and opportunities to show their development; but that is not what a DL provide. Their distance is more an empty space where younger lawyers feel abandoned and confused. This is also a bad leadership model.

The need for good leadership has become even more acute during and after the pandemic. The hybrid model will require a more intense and efficient set of communicational skills. Those partners who were used to exercise their role in a detached and cold manner will find very hard to produce enthusiasm and sense of belonging in their teams. Both Micromanagement Leaders and Distant Leaders will find the same problems for handling people and talent. Lawyers need to feel that their leaders are fighting the battle with them, regardless of how close or apart they may be at any given time. However, proximity and commitment will always be a direct way to show that commitment. If circumstances dictate that a leader should stay 150 yards behind the line, then he or she has to make sure that the team feels his or her emotional proximity and backup should there be any trouble.

Leadership is a relationship, first and foremost, and only then a technical and operational role. Significant results in a team do not come from a good technical and organizational deployment of resources but of meaningful relationships where leaders and followers share one purpose and engage together towards a common goal. Using the beautiful Carpenter song, people long to be close to good leaders. In the years after Covid, this will be a requirement for leading law firms and partners like never before.