B EST P RACTICES C ONFERENCE 2013 I DENTIFYING Y OUR T OP P ERFORMERS AND G ETTING T HEM ON THE B ENCH P RESENTED BY S AM A LLRED D IRECTOR AT U PSTREAM

BestPractices Conference 2013

Identifying Your Top Performers and Getting Them on the Bench

Presented by Sam AllredDirector at Upstream Academy, LLC

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BestPractices Conference 2013 2

The theme of this year’s BestPractices Conference is Developing, Coaching And Safeguarding Your Firm’s Greatest Asset.

We can’t possibly do this unless we first understand who the firm’s greatest asset really is.


“Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”

Jim Collins

What does this quote mean to you?


“It became real obvious to us a long time ago that we weren’t having the kind of success we needed keeping the best and brightest and moving them into positions where they could be leaders in the firm. We determined we were not going to feed internal growth or grow by merger if we didn’t have a manufacturing plant to produce leaders.”

Bob Bunting

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What does this quote mean to you?


The best process for identifying, measuring and developing a firm’s bench strength is the Bench Strength Exercise.

Let’s first review the steps in this exercise and then discuss proven strategies for developing your firm’s future leaders.


2. Ask the partners to write down the names of individuals in the firm who they feel could be partners in the next 5-7 years

3. Using a data projector, display the names for the group to discuss

BENCH STRENGTH EXERCISE

1. Schedule a partner meeting or retreat


4. Go through each name and ask the partners to ballpark how many years it should take this individual to become a partner

5. Reorder the names from closest to partner to furthest away

6. Add columns labeled “strengths” and “weaknesses” to the right of each name



7. Openly discuss each individual on the list and identify strengths and weaknesses

8. Identify who is best suited in the partner group to help coach each individual towards ownership

9. Establish a system of accountability to monitor and measure progress



POTENTIAL LEADERS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

David T. (1-2)(Randy)

Experienced. Communicates well. Strong sense of client development. Strategic. Has magnetic personality. Unique skill set.

New to firm. Restless and impatient. Job hopper. Struggling to find a place in the firm. Potential for his defined market. Perhaps he is casting too wide a net.

Jenny K. (2-3)(Larry)

Loyalty. Grew up on a farm. Hard worker. Home grown. Great business developer. Excellent interpersonal skills. Assertive. Persistent. Really cares about the firm. One of the best recruiters in the firm. Has a desire to become a partner in the firm.

Talks too loud. A bit caustic. Procrastinates. Needs to do a better job of delegation. Doesn’t see value in what she does. Apologetic about billing.

Jared K. (3)(Susan E.)

Attitude and energy level. Strong enthusiasm. Real team player. Experienced. Home grown. Would fit in well with the group. Has experienced BD success. Has desire to pursue BD. He wants to be a partner. Working for a hall of fame partner. Confidence.

Lack of attention to detail. Gaps in technical background. Not annuity based work. Needs more experience in meetings. Working for hall of fame partner.

Scott A. (3)(Byron)

Hard working. Diligent. Detail orientated. Attitude and energy level. Very creative. Home grown. Strong technical competence. Has experienced BD success.

Health. Has said he wants to pursue a law career. We don’t know what he wants to do. Has a poor sense of urgency on engagements. Part-time person. He may not know what he wants to do.

Jill P. (5)(Linda G.)

Smart. Technical skills. Good people skills. Staff respect her. Works well with all levels of people. Solid person. Clients like her.

Youth. Self confidence. Lack of experience. Hasn’t started a billing sheet. Has not brought in business.

Steven W. (5+)(Tim)

Hungry. Enthusiastic. Affable personality. Hard worker. Clients like him. Willing to take on responsibilities. Will take risks. Team player. Developed some new work.

Technical skills. May not be overly sharp. Needs clear focus. Has difficulty assessing a situation and making good judgments. Can miss the big picture. Struggles to think on his feet. He is currently compensated above his skill set.

BENCH STRENGTH WORKSHEET


• Your bench strength ratio is the number of individuals in the firm who can become partners in the next 5-7 years divided by the total number of partners in the firm.

• If you currently have 20 partners and the bench strength exercise yields 15 names, you have a bench strength ratio of 75%.

KEY POINTS REGARDING THIS EXERCISE


• Ideally, a firm would have a bench strength ratio between 100 and 200 percent.



• When discussing strengths, think of those attributes or talents that help you envision this individual becoming a partner.

• When discussing weaknesses, what things stand in the way of you voting this person into the partnership right now?



• A firm’s bench strength isn’t just the sum of those who hold the title of Supervisor, Manager, or Senior Manager. The real measure of bench strength is those individuals who the partner group is confident have what it takes to become partners.



Too many firms have erred in believing the value of this process is in identifying the bench strength list.

Knowing your firm’s bench strength is but the very first step in developing, coaching, and safeguarding these individuals.


Let’s discuss nine high performance strategies for developing, coaching, and safeguarding your very best people.


1. Those on the bench strength list deserve the best coaches you have in the firm. Be cautious about letting individuals pick their own coaches.

2. Coaches should meet with these rising stars regularly, be open and honest with them, and be appropriately demanding to move them out of their comfort zones.

HIGH PERFORMANCE STRATEGIES


How can a person’s comfort zone be a major impediment to his/her career?

What are some examples of staying in our comfort zones?

QUESTIONS


3. Openly discuss any existing managers and senior managers who did not make the list. These are your career managers and senior managers. You will struggle to develop leaders in the firm if you have more than 25% career managers and senior managers.



Why is it so difficult to develop leaders in the firm when more than 25% of your managers and senior managers are never going to become partners?

QUESTION


4. Beware of parity and remember that we never treat anyone as special when we treat everyone the same. You need to give special attention to those on your bench strength list.



Understanding the hiking principle.


What are the fears partners have in treating those on the bench strength list in a special or different manner?

What could be some evidences that those on the bench strength list are being treated in a special way?

QUESTIONS


What are the pros and cons of bringing the bench strength group together and telling them they are the future of the firm?

QUESTION


5. Coaches should be willing to help rising stars mitigate weaknesses and help them set goals that play to their individual strengths.



6. Use one to two partner meetings each year to review progress on your bench strength development program.

7. All individuals in the bench strength program should receive the same evaluation given to partners.



What system of accountability is needed to ensure coaches are helping those on your bench advance and grow?

QUESTION


8. Scheduling should begin each year with those on your bench strength list. What do they most need to help them progress in their careers?

9. Those on your bench strength list need to experience regular doses of shadowing opportunities.



What should happen to an individual’s charge hour budget once he/she is identified on the bench strength list?

QUESTION


Those on your bench strength list are your A clients, so to speak. They need much more time with the partner group. Shadowing needs to happen. Active coaching needs to happen. Their career trajectory should be noticeably different from their non-bench strength peers.

THE LITMUS TEST


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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Thank You!

[email protected]

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B EST P RACTICES C ONFERENCE 2013 I DENTIFYING Y OUR T OP P ERFORMERS AND G ETTING T HEM ON THE B ENCH P RESENTED BY S AM A LLRED D IRECTOR AT U PSTREAM