Create alignment
To maintain the focus on promoting Cozen O’Connor as a full-service law firm, Decker placed an emphasis on continual training, particularly in the area of marketing.
Lawyers on the firm’s lower and middle rungs are coached in how to present the firm to both current and potential clients. They learn how to identify and capitalize on cross-selling opportunities.
“A litigator in Dallas, for example, is trained to understand what other services we can offer,” Decker says. “When they’re with clients, it behooves them to make sure the client understands what else the firm can do for them, maybe not just in Dallas but other locations, as well. You have to educate clients and customers on what services you can provide and not allow your people to think in a silo kind of fashion. They need to think beyond what their group or skill set can provide to the customer. That’s a challenge in any business.”
Decker and his management team continually reinforce the concepts of cross-selling and alignment at company meetings. It’s more than just a message from management. In order for employees to truly embrace a team approach to customer service, it needs to be part of the culture that each person begins learning on his or her first day at your company.
“We talk about it at retreats; we talk about it at management meetings,” Decker says. “We let people know what is expected of them, and the managers of the particular groups reinforce that. That is a part of each manager’s responsibilities. If I get a sense that’s not happening, we need to have some training in the areas that need improvement.”
Training on the overarching goals of the company is part of getting employees to develop a big-picture mindset. It can be a difficult task for a leader to get employees to think beyond their day-to-day work, but if you’re going to drive your vision and culture, particularly in a transformational way, it’s a necessary ingredient.
There is no magic potion. Decker says it all comes back to the principles of clear, consistent communication.
“You can never communicate too much on your c
or
e values and strategic plan,” he says. “It is simply not possible to communicate too much on that. It’s because people have their day-to-day responsibilities and they don’t always have time to think about the business plan and how it works. They’re too busy implementing their individual plans.
“That’s why, when you go out among your people, you have to keep answering questions, keep making sure that everybody understands where you’re going. You learn an awful lot when you do that. You learn what people are thinking; you learn if some improvements need to be made in how you handle some things. You learn if you need to provide better communication.”
The need for feedback is ongoing if you are to keep employees on message and rally them around your vision. Decker began his tenure as president and CEO by creating a dialogue with his employees, and he has made it a point to keep that dialogue going as he has become more established in his role.
Creating alignment is about getting employees to listen, but it’s also about teaching yourself to listen. Your employees can teach you as well as you can teach them.
“You’re listening, because that is part of communication,” Decker says. “It’s not just talking. You might be correcting some of the things you hear, but a lot of times, someone might bring up something you never thought about.”
Through his continued dialogue with others in the firm, Decker has been able to make a few key adjustments to Cozen O’Connor’s strategic plan.
“We adjusted our strategic plan because people kept telling us that it’s getting harder and harder to recruit commercial litigators if you don’t have a corporate practice to go along with it,” he says. “With that in mind, we’re making adjustments in certain cities with regard to the plan.
“When you’re listening to feedback and ideas from people, sooner or later, it will sink in that this is the right way to go or you come to the conclusion that the suggestion isn’t the way to go and you’re not going to change. Sometimes, you do get some half-baked stuff when you’re throwing ideas around. But it’s still worth it to listen to the half-baked ideas for two reasons: One, it’s not half-baked to the person telling it, and two, it’s worth it just to listen to people. The mere fact that you’re listening and being open is a real plus for your employees.”
Employees have to feel engaged if they’re going to help drive your vision and live by your corporate values. That is why you need to listen. Even if you can’t use their ideas, you still need them to feel like an engaged part of the team.
“You want people to feel invested, and you want people to be able to express themselves, to feel like they’re part of something,” Decker says. “Otherwise, it’s easy for people to become disaffected and disinterested. That is a key thing. Arrogance breeds that disaffection, and it’s arrogant to not be listening.”
Today, Cozen O’Connor has succeeded in re-fashioning its outward image, and it is now widely known as a full-service legal firm, a fact that plays a role in its recruitment of new clients and new lawyers.
“Since 1995, we’ve been a full-service firm,” Decker says. “You name it, we probably do it. But what is different now is that the public understands as much about us as they do about competing firms. That might not have been the case a few years ago. We’re not considered a niche firm anymore. More people know who we are and what we do.”
How to reach: Cozen O’Connor, (215) 665-2000 or www.cozen.com