Value everybody’s contribution to build a team atmosphere. We have a firm where everyone tries to operate with one another with a feeling of mutual respect. That’s respect for our mutual strengths but also respect for the differences among us and trying to pull all that together into a collaborative effort.
A team effort is not always the simplest thing, but if you have mutual respect, it is far, far easier to do that than otherwise. There’s a little bit of tradition of what you might call egalitarianism amongst our firm. The idea that an individual’s opinion and position counts for a lot, no matter where you might officially stand in the scheme of the organization. More and more, we have an environment of collaboration. Every large firm needs to have that and foster it every day, and we have been pretty successful in that.
That’s the way we’ve always related to one another. It was that way when I was a brand-new lawyer, and it continues to be that way 30-plus years afterward. You have to appreciate and value the contributions that everyone makes.
Some people are able to contribute at higher levels than others, but you have to be very mindful of the fact that everybody’s contribution plays a role in the overall success of the corporation. You just have to constantly try to do things to keep that point in mind with yourself and share that thought with everybody.
I think there’s no difference; if somebody does a good job, you let them know, acknowledge it. You also try to deal with them as integral parts of the accomplishments and achievements of the firm.
You try as much as you can to diminish any differences between professional and nonprofessional folks by celebrating as one team.
Reward collaboration. The easiest thing is we talk up collaboration and teamwork constantly at the firm. We try our very best to reward demonstrations of collaboration and teamwork — reward it not only in terms of compensation over the long run but to acknowledge it internally.
When collaboration occurs and when it is successful, you give people recognition for what they’re doing.
We sometimes issue internal communications that acknowledge to everyone when our attorneys or staff members have done important things in a team exercise. That counts for a lot. It counts more than the compensation adjustment that happens months or even a year later. It matters a great deal.
The other thing is we have a situation where it’s not just the managing partner that’s doing the acknowledging and giving the recognition. We have practice group leaders and others do it pretty constantly and regularly without prodding and do it in a natural way. That’s a very productive way to make sure everybody is doing a great job together.
How to reach: Ulmer & Berne LLP, (216) 583-7000 or www.ulmer.com
