Share your vision
Once you get people in the door, they probably have at least a
surface-level idea of what your organization is all about. But you
need to reinforce that message again and again to make sure they
are clear about it.
“One of the best thinkers and writers about law firm management is this guy named David Maister,” Van Cleve says. “He is a former Harvard Business School professor, and he is a consultant. He
answers the question, ‘How do you influence people?’ His view is
that you can only influence people by convincing them that whatever you want them to do is in their own best interest.”
Van Cleve says this is best done on a one-on-one basis.
“It’s individual contact,” he says. “It’s not mass e-mail communication. It’s not speeches. It’s not inspiration from on high. You need
to listen to where they are coming from. Understand where they
are coming from. Communicate to them what you think the overall vision is or how the overall vision relates to the particular issue
you are talking about.”
In addition to the one-on-meetings, get out of your office and talk
to your people. While there are some people who need to schedule
a visit because of their own workload, others prefer impromptu
visits and casual chats by the watercooler.
“You have got to be able to listen,” Van Cleve says. “Have a firm
understanding of what your culture is and be able to reinforce that.
When you have issues, you need to be both positive and creative
about having to deal with those things. Integrity is an important
part of leadership traits. I believe that part of my job is to see and
recognize the best in our people and be an advocate for them, both
internally and externally.
“This is not a top-down organization. This isn’t the sort of thing
where the managing partner in St. Louis or the chairman of our
firm says, ‘This is my vision and I deliver it to you.’ It’s much more
understanding our culture and arriving at a common goal with our
partners in terms of where we want to be as a firm.”
By talking to people about organizational issues and getting them
involved with the bigger picture, you stand a much greater chance
of earning their support of the company’s vision.
“None of these concepts are developed in a closed room and
delivered to people,” Van Cleve says. “It’s about getting people’s
buy-in. How you get that buy-in is by involving them in discussions
that lead to the vision and lead to the view of what the team is
going to do.”
