I’ve been training inside a lot of law firms over the past two months. Whether it’s a big firm in NY, a mid-sized firm in DC, or a boutique in Atlanta, I keep hearing about a gap between the mentoring associates desire and the lack of engagement partners feel from associates.
I believe that both associates and partners want the same outcome: for associates to grow into the best talent possible.
So why does this gap between associate engagement and partner investment often exist?
I have been contemplating this, and I believe there are two big obstacles to forging trust-filled mentorship:
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Associates are afraid to ask for feedback.
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Partners are afraid to give feedback.
Asking for feedback so you can become an even better attorney requires vulnerability (this is true for building trusted client relationships, too). High achievers like to feel in control, and vulnerability is the opposite of feeling in control.
Giving feedback, especially when it’s not just praise, is uncomfortable for most partners. But we all know that feedback is necessary for professional growth. How can an associate know how to improve if they don’t receive honest feedback?
In my own life, I have been mentoring Jake, my 25-year-old son, who joined WCE 17 months ago, and it’s been a highlight of my career!
I wish I could tell every partner out there that when you take the time to explain why an associate doing a great job on an assignment is important to the overall project, or introduce them to the client when possible, you will not only get a much better work product, but also a very engaged team member.
In addition, imagine what could happen when associates take the time to ask you, “How could I have done an even better job on this assignment?” while shutting down that unhelpful voice in their heads that says, “I don’t want to bother them!”
I experience this every day when Jake asks me questions about client projects and why we handle things one way with one client and differently with another.
There are the technical skills new professionals need to learn, and then there’s the wisdom that can only be imparted by senior professionals who’ve gained it through time and experience. That wisdom has to be shared human to human.
Successful mentoring requires associates to ask questions and partners to be willing to invest. It requires both parties to be vulnerable at times, which is both hard and incredibly rewarding!