{"id":4888,"date":"2021-07-13T13:43:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T13:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/pl-en\/uncategorized\/talent-development-for-lawyers\/"},"modified":"2023-11-08T15:35:15","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T15:35:15","slug":"talent-development-for-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/pl-en\/developing-leaders\/talent-development-for-lawyers\/","title":{"rendered":"Why law firms should have an embedded Talent Development Process \u2013 a route to enhanced performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

We believe that the legal sector can look to another professional services sector for learnings around talent development.\u00a0 Employee talent development processes and dialogues are very commonplace in consulting firms.\u00a0 Consultants routinely work across a number of different projects reporting to different managers at each stage and therefore they have a Career Development Manager (CDM) that manages their performance and development.\u00a0 The fact that they are rarely line-managed by their reviewer creates this requirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

All too often the performance review process can be received at an individual level in a negative way, even as a tick box exercise. However, if these conversations are approached at an organisational level, embedded into the organisational culture, great things can happen. At TPC Leadership we have been working with a number of consulting firms for the past eight years building talent development processes as a core part of the internal culture with wide reaching positive impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting a development conversation<\/b><\/h2>\n

Excellent development conversations start with the CDM approaching them with a growth mindset. The term growth mindset was coined by Dr Carol Dweck over 30 years ago and she describes it as \u201cwhen people\u2026change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The training we\u2019ve provided enables CDMs to have really meaningful conversations with their talent. Focusing on the critical balance between sharing knowledge, expertise and wisdom of the CDM (who\u2019s also had loads of experience navigating their way through the organisation) and adopting a coaching style to empower the individual to think for themselves and take responsibility for their development.<\/span><\/p>\n

A large focus of the training supports CDMs in how to give meaningful feedback<\/span>.\u00a0 Charles Brook<\/a>, founder of TPC Leadership<\/b> notes that \u201coften Partners and Managers at professional services firms struggle to give high quality, structured feedback that will be valued by the advisee, and is done in a generative way\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By learning how to give feedback in the right way you can move into a deeper, trusting relationship through positive development conversations. \u00a0 With organisations desperate to attract and retain talent Charles believes it\u2019s essential to focus on this aspect of developing talent.\u00a0 \u201cIt is of fundamental importance to today\u2019s workforce that they are progressing and learning. For this to happen they need to have people within the organisation genuinely interested in making that happen.\u201d\u00a0 By embracing this approach, it becomes a cornerstone of the organisation\u2019s success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Charles explains, \u201cMost people think the only way of adding value is sharing their own personal experience and success strategies. While this can help, often it\u2019s more valuable to help them understand what the blockers are that might be hindering their performance and therefore help them unblock themselves and get them to think how they might do it.\u00a0 It\u2019s about using a blend of mentoring (occurs naturally for someone in a more senior position) and coaching with the conversation becoming more relational, where relationships are strengthened and the advisee takes ownership for their actions and development plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

CDMs who\u2019ve adopted these strategies and use these skills extensively become great talent developers.\u00a0 Reflecting on their experiences, they report that they notice how different the development conversations are, with the advisee leaving a meeting with enthusiasm and commitment to develop themselves having taken ownership of their actions and responsibilities. This contrasts significantly with research from Gallup showing that 70% of an employee\u2019s motivation is influenced by his or her manager.\u00a0 Further research from the University of California found that motivated employees were 31% more productive and were three times more creative than demotivated employees. They were also 87% less likely to quit, according to a Corporate Leadership Council study on over 50,000 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why it\u2019s the best thing you can do<\/b><\/h2>\n

This does not only relate to CDMs, but all managers.\u00a0 It is a truism that in professional services firms that if you\u2019re a good developer of people, people will go the extra mile to get on your team and\u2026if you have a reputation as a great developer, you have the pick of the talent.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Asking talent developers as they leave the firm what they\u2019ve most enjoyed about their role, one of the Partners we\u2019ve worked with stated \u201cthe bit you remember most is the people you\u2019ve worked with, how you added value to those people and the legacy you\u2019ve created whilst there with the people you\u2019ve worked with\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Should a firm adopt this way of approaching performance conversations, they will also reap further benefits:<\/span><\/p>\n