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D EVELOPING Y OUR B ENCH S TRENGTH : E FFECTIVE T OOLS , P ROVEN S TRATEGIES P RESENTED BY S AM M. A LLRED, F OUNDER & D IRECTOR O F U PSTREAM A CADEMY.
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DEVELOPING YOUR BENCH STRENGTH: EFFECTIVE TOOLS, PROVEN STRATEGIES PRESENTED BY SAM M. ALLRED, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR OF UPSTREAM ACADEMY
Firm leaders have been aware for some time that their senior partners are edging ever-closer to retirement and that there is a crucial need to identify, train, and prepare individuals to take the place of these key leaders as they leave the firm. Are we facing a leadership crisis?
Unfortunately, too few firms have made adequate preparations for the dramatic changes in leadership that will take place in the next five to ten years. Many have not properly trained their younger leaders to move into the key positions that will soon be vacant.
Most leaders understand the concept of bench strength, but not enough are proactively doing what’s needed to develop the strength their firms will need 5, 10, or even 15 years down the road. As with most things, it’s helpful to ask the question, “Where will this lead?”
Observations regarding our profession’s bench strength How to identify, measure, and develop your bench strength Proven strategies for developing your firm’s bench strength Questions and answers Email questions tosama@upstreamacademy.com PRESENTATION ROADMAP
OBSERVATION #1 In many firms, partners use the phrase “our best people” as if they had taken the time to identify who fits in this category. Most partner groups have not spent the time to identify who they collectively feel are their best and brightest.
OBSERVATION #2 Many firms struggle with weak bench strength and are more reactive than proactive in developing leaders. All too often, development of the necessary skills to become a partner is left entirely to the individuals themselves.
“Helping junior professionals to learn thoroughly and quickly is low on the partners’ daily priority lists, and thus rarely commands their prime attention. As a result, most learning is opportunistic, disorganized, haphazard, and slow – in fact, usually the responsibility of the junior professional himself or herself.” David H. Maister
OBSERVATION #3 Some firm leaders wonder why such a big deal is made of developing leaders when everything seems to work out – year after year – even when the blueprint followed has been the strategy of hope.
OBSERVATION #4 Many firms seem to believe new partners already know what it’s all about. How many new partners struggle and are the subject of closed door meetings for the rest of their career?
OBSERVATION #5 Some leaders feel the answer to developing their bench strength is to simply enroll their best candidates in multi-year leadership programs. Firm leaders must not write a check and abdicate their responsibility to develop their own people.
OBSERVATION #6 Years ago, individuals who decided early in their careers that they wanted to be partners were willing to wait in their seats until they were called up to the big leagues. Now we see an increased likelihood that rising stars will leave if they are frustrated in their personal career paths.
OBSERVATION #7 The current recession has caused an increasing number of firms to put off planned invitations to new partners. This reluctance to continue with the current path to partner process may cause more than a little unrest among future leaders of the firm.
OBSERVATION #8 Many firms lack both a written process and clear criteria for accepting new partners. This creates a challenge for many who justifiably feel there isn’t a straight-forward path to partnership in the firm.
OBSERVATION #9 Some partners feel it’s unwise to make managers or supervisors feel they are moving up the ladder when, in fact, there is no assurance they will ever make it to the top rung.
Other partners feel that if you select a few individuals and identify them as “future partner material,” you demoralize all of the others who have not been so identified.
Another reason firms have struggled to establish criteria for accepting new partners is that one or more of the existing partners invariably falls short of the standards.
OBSERVATION #10 For those who are tired of waiting, the invitation from competing firms who have a more defined path to partnership is sometimes too tempting to pass up.
OBSERVATION #11 It costs far more than we think to lose one of our brightest and best employees. What are the costs associated with losing one of our stars?
Employee revenue production for several months Recruiting and training a replacement Loss of knowledge about the workings of the firm Hard dollar/soft dollar investments in training Risk of losing a line of business or service Costs of losing a star
The connection/relationship between that person and other staff/clients/ prospects The ideas and enthusiasm that could have come to the firm from that individual The questions that pass through the minds of those who remain Costs of losing a star
OBSERVATION #12 Thankfully, more firms are moving to a model that clearly identifies rising stars early on and guides them in their careers.
“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
The best process to identify, measure and develop 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.
Bench Strength Exercise Schedule a partner meeting or retreat Ask the partners to write down the names of those individuals in the firm who they feel could be a partner in the next 5-7 years Using a data projector, display the names for the group to discuss
Bench Strength Exercise Go through each name and ask the partners to ballpark how many years it should take this individual to become a partner Reorder the names from closest to partner to furthest away Add two columns labeled Strengths and Weaknesses to the right of each name
Bench Strength Exercise Openly discuss each individual on the list and identify their strengths and weaknesses Identify who is best suited in the partner group to help coach each individual towards firm ownership Establish a system of accountability to monitor and measure progress
Key points regarding this exercise • 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 in the firm 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% to 200%
Key points regarding this exercise • 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 in to the partnership right now?
Key points regarding this exercise • 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 that the partner group is confident have what it takes to become partners in the firm.
PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING YOUR FIRM’S BENCH STRENGTH
Proven strategies • When discussing possible individuals to add to the list, err on the side of inclusion • You should openly discuss any existing managers and senior managers who did not make the bench strength list • Beware of parity. We never treat anyone special when we treat everyone the same.
Proven strategies • This exercise helps us to identify any gaps in developing leaders for offices and departments throughout the firm • This exercise also helps us see if we are falling into the trap of promoting only those individuals who are just like us
Proven strategies • Those on the bench strength list deserve the best coaches we have in the firm • 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 • Be cautious about letting individuals pick their own coaches
Proven strategies • Coaches should be willing to help rising stars overcome their weaknesses and help them set goals to play to their individual strengths
Proven strategies • Use one to two partner meetings each year to review progress with your bench strength development program • All individuals in the bench strength program should receive the same evaluation given to partners
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSEmail questions tosallred@azworld.com
UPCOMING EVENTS MANAGEMENT PRESENTATIONS May 25 & June 30, 2011 Key Principles and Best Practices for Partner Compensation July 11 & 21, 2011 What to Do When Partners Can’t Seem to Get Along EMERGING LEADERS ACADEMY May 15, 2011 Registration Deadline ACADEMY FOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT June 1, 2011 Registration Deadline
Thank You! sama@upstreamacademy.com
