Learning how to lead, not just cope.

By Caroline Nevin

With the past few years of economic uncertainty, business pundits have offered prolific (if not profound) advice to those in charge, on the topic of managing change in tough times.

In the legal world, law firms are restructuring and rethinking their market strategy. Legal organizations like the CBA, Law Society and Courthouse Libraries are doing the same. Corporate counsel are helping create new business strategies for their employers. And government legal departments are preparing for a smaller workforce, partly due to demographics and partly to a shrinking public purse as health care costs grow. All of us are faced with the task of “change management” in one form or another, some of us on a daily basis.

For those with little time to read the latest business wisdom on the topic, here are some basic lessons from some who have studied change management:

1. Top-down is old news. The “command and control” paradigm worked beautifully until this last decade. The social contract between employers and employees has evolved and employee engagement (knowledge and power sharing) is the New Deal. Smart business leaders who want a motivated and responsive workforce ensure that staff have meaningful involvement in responding to – and implementing – change. (Smythe, 2007)
2. The right leaders need to be given power. Good leaders in steady times may not be the right leaders for tough times – it may be necessary to bring in or promote a “remedial manager” who has the leadership skills to instigate and direct far-reaching changes and who has no emotional attachment to current programs, directions or “how things have always been done.” (Stern, 2009)
3. Urgency matters. Everyone thinks change is good, until they actually have to do it. There has to be a compelling reason for change, something that people understand on a personal level as part of a bigger picture. Note: the concept of working harder so other people can make more money off your effort just isn’t it.
4. Communication is everything – but so is clarity. Do you know what it means to become a “leading edge organization,” “best in class,” “a global leader” or any other vague vision? When you and your staff come to work in the morning, do you know exactly what your role is and what you need to do to move the organization’s strategy forward? The key to communicating a change message is clear, concise, relevant language – repeated, repeated, repeated.
5. Culture has to change before behaviour can. Without the right culture, change strategy is doomed. Four key steps are involved in changing organizational culture: creating awareness of why old behaviours don’t work; establishing role models of new behaviours; developing knowledge and skills across the team; and rewarding positive behaviors. (Unwin, 2007)
6. The leadership team has to walk the talk – and smile. Everyone, from the front desk staff to the most senior employee, is acutely attuned to any discrepancy between messages about change management strategy and the demeanour and behaviour of their leaders. People will look for signs that leaders are overwhelmed or cynical, lack control or have double standards. If the leadership team can’t look confident driving the road now taken, how can anyone else?

Law firms, legal organizations and law departments aren’t necessarily known for being flexible and adaptable, but the reality is that we have no choice. We’re all faced with an impossibly fast pace of change and we must each do our best to lead, not just cope with it.

This article was published in the April 2010 issue of BarTalk. © 2010 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.