A high-performance culture is the foundation for building and sustaining a profitable law firm. However, establishing and nurturing a high-performance law firm culture can be a daunting task. How can a firm’s leadership build trust from the bottom up while supporting the firm’s structure and hierarchy? Even more difficult, how does a law firm remedy a culture that does not have trust, a unified vision, or alignment around priorities or direction? One of the strongest examples of a high-performance culture, teamwork and efficiency is elite rowing.

Rowing is a sport of synchronicity and strength—each individual rower moves together as a single unit. A strong eight boat glides through the water, never dipping or wavering too far in any direction as all eight oars enter and exit the water at the same time. The power from each individual athlete is amplified as the boat picks up momentum and runs across the top of the water. Although these movements look effortless, every stroke on the water is the result of carefully executed practices, plans and strategy.   

The skills and teamwork necessary for elite rowing teams to build speed during a race are similar to the skills and teamwork required for law firms to build a high-performance firm culture.

A successful rowing crew is not built singularly from a star athlete or new boat, but instead from a balanced combination of trust, confidence, alignment, technical skill, power and technology. Similarly, a law firm cannot survive off of individual actions but thrives through the strength of the entire firm.

What law firms can learn from elite rowing:

1. Trust: Athletes perform their best when they are in a supportive environment that encourages them to give and receive critical feedback free from anxiety. To achieve a positive mentality, each athlete understands they play an important role in something larger than just themselves. Even if a team has physically strong rowers, if any members of the crew feel unsafe or anxious, the boat will not reach its potential. High performance cultures occur in a law firm when every member of the firm feels supported, valued and safe. With open communication, a law firm benefits from the diverse perspective and depth of skills, expertise and talent of their lawyers and staff. 
2. Confidence: Every person in a rowing boat must have confidence in each member of the crew. At the start line, rowers must also have the confidence that all of the training and practice up to that point has prepared them to perform at their best. Within law firms, communication, ongoing learning and mentoring are key factors that create confidence among staff and lawyers. Associates and new partners want to excel. They need to have the support, resources and skills to thrive and succeed. 
3. Alignment. Technical alignment in a boat separates average boats from excellent boats.  In order to leverage the speed generated in a boat, every rower must move in total alignment through the water. If one rower puts their oar in the water too early or late, the boat loses momentum immediately. Law firm alignment is achieved through shared vision, purpose, values and prioritized strategic initiatives. Strategic alignment allows the firm to leverage the synergy of the entire firm–with everyone working towards a common goal. Establishing alignment among staff and lawyers will help the firm attract and retain key personnel as well as identify players that are out of sync.
4. The Right People. Although strategy, planning and mental strength play important roles in creating speed, there needs to be enough power in the boat to begin with. Every seat in the boat has a different role; in order to maximize a boat’s power, the lineup should highlight every athletes’ different strengths. Having the right people in a law firm is the foundation for creating a powerful reputation and brand. High performance law firms create clarity about hiring, job responsibilities, expectations and feedback. They focus on attracting and retaining people with the characteristics, competency and depth and breadth of skills required to serve their target client base.  
5. Technology/Operations. The final component to getting more speed in a rowing boat is utilizing up to date technology and equipment. At an elite level, a crew will be at a clear disadvantage if their competitors have more advanced or up to date technology or equipment. Efficient systems and process operations in a law firm are a vehicle for delivering high value to target clients and reducing unnecessary overhead. A culture that prioritizes communication will produce more engagement and buy-in for utilizing new technology.

How law firms can improve culture  

If your law firm is struggling with any of the above factors, you can begin to strengthen your firm’s culture through awareness and action. The first step is to assess your firm’s culture. Do members of your firm demonstrate strong esprit de corps? Do people believe their work is meaningful? Is there a shared vision for the firm that inspires and motivates everyone to excel at their highest potential?

A strong culture will always trump strategy because it is how you execute your strategy–the attitude and passion team members have for their work. 

In this competitive and changing legal market, it is not just what firms do that will separate them from the pack, rather it is how they do it. The synergy created by having the right people aligned around common values, purpose, vision and action will position your firm for long-term success.

Originally posted on Attorney At Work