New York Lawyer
June 13, 2002

Q:
We�re at a transition time and I worry that our managing partner is not the one to lead the charge.

He�s the nicest guy in the world, affable, everyone likes him, he�s got a super practice with major clients, but when it comes to making hard decisions and persuading others to come on board, he�s either too busy or just doesn�t know how to make the effort. We desparately need someone who is bold and leads the way with confidence in order to make the hard decisions for the future.

Everyone gripes about this behind his back but because of a variety of factors no one has really stepped up and told him what so many of us think, fear, etc.

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A:
This is a very common problem, especially among partnerships, so you can at least take some comfort in the fact that you are hardly unique.

Look at Arthur Andersen -- they reacted slowly to a huge crisis when what was needed was an instant, radical response. Accounts of firm-wide conference calls involving hundreds of partners make the mind reel. If they had taken quick action -- the top guy immediately stepping aside right away, for instance -- maybe they would have had half a chance of saving their partnership. Instead, they bled over a period of months and their demise seems imminent.

In any partnership, typically these issues drift along until there�s such a buildup of collective anxiety that finally something is done. Obviously it�s better to be more strategic and directed than that, but we�re all human, and in a partnership it�s difficult to tell someone with a great track record otherwise that, in effect, they�re doing a mediocre job managing the organization.

Which leads to a cautionary tale about a very common phenomenon, in industry as well as professional services firms. The big producer isn�t necessarily the best manager/leader. People think that a good book of business automatically translates into leadership, but there�s countless examples showing the opposite.

So what should you do? Obviously the exact mechanism for replacing your managing partner (if that�s what is needed) depends on your partnership agreement and governance provisions.

Before doing anything, you need to make sure that your views dominate. These things aren�t clearcut -- what can look like bold leadership to some will look like reckless abandon to others. So you have to clarify whether a majority of partners really do agree with you that bold leadership, doing something rather than nothing, is necessary.

Remember that leaders always hear conflicting advice. It could be that your managing partner is hearing vehement views from people who completely disagree with you. So you need to be clear on whether there�s the unanimity you believe.

The way to do that is a combination of informal, private conversations canvassing people to solicit their views, and a more formal, partnership-wide discussion about the future of the firm, perhaps with outside facilitation. This combination can flush out the true sentiments of the partnership.

Another approach is for you or someone who is respected but unthreatening to talk to the managing partner privately. Overcoming anxiety or avoiding confrontation with the managing partner mistakes the proper perspective here. The best interests of the firm, now and going forward, should predominate. In your conversation you must establish that you are on his side, not challenging his power, you must have very specific and factual reasons for making suggestions, and stick to those facts when making the case.

In other words, you don�t need to resort to anything like saying he�s a weak leader, or other remarks that will just make him defensive and disparage your ideas.

In the future, those thrust into positions of leadership should be required to get some coaching on the subject. It�s better to outfit people with some leadership training and coaching so that they have a better sense of what to do, rather than assuming it will just come naturally along with all the other gifts these people possess.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work