Agenda
THE FIRST 100 DAYS
Master Class for the New Managing Partner
Thursday, January 26, 2012 • 8:30am – 4:30pm
University of Miami Newman Alumni Center • Miami, Florida
AGENDA
8:30am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
PART ONE: TRANSITIONING INTO THE ROLE
9:00am
Case Study
Participants will explore what action they might take and what counsel they might offer if they found themselves in the situation confronting the managing partner in this case study.
Moving Into Your Leadership Role
As the firm leader, you are no longer measured by your individual contribution alone, and what has made you successful up to now will not automatically carry you through in your new position. In this session, we will discuss the four distinct stages of your transition and help you assess your unique circumstances.
10:30am
Coffee Break
10:45am
Working With Your Executive Committee
Meanwhile, you cannot meet expectations if it is not clear to you what is expected of you. You, therefore, will want to develop with your Board / Executive Committee, shared perceptions of the firm's current situation and agreement about your intended priorities as a new Firm Chair / Managing Partner.
Creating Constructive Dialogue With Peers & Power Brokers
While you may not officially take office for a number of weeks (or months), you need to use this time to schedule meetings and consultations with key individuals. The lawyers with whom you will interact will have different substantive skills, diverse experiences, a variety of work styles, and sometimes conflicting priorities. This could make the interactions challenging for you. Learn effective communication skills for understanding and appealing to your partners' differing styles.
Enhancing Your Leadership Influence
It is challenging enough to lead those who agree with you. But inducing others to willingly follow you when they are initially skeptical or opposed to your goals is the greatest challenge facing aspiring leaders. Learn a set of techniques drawn from proven principles of social psychology that can be applied to build consensus and enhance your persuasive skills during any face-to-face or group interaction.
12:00pm - Luncheon
Characteristics of Today’s Most Successful Law Firms
How Does Your Firm Perform?
The legal profession has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Some law firms are thriving, while others are falling apart. The most successful law firms are adopting business practices – with strategic plans, institutional policies and procedures, marketing, and accountability. At the same time, many firms continue to operate like loose confederations of sole practitioners.
This session presents what these most successful firms are doing well and, drawing upon surveys conducted at recent Managing Partner Forums, examines how most law firms perform in these critical areas. Participants will learn powerful, practical ideas and concepts to make their firms become more cohesive, profitable and sustainable in the rapidly changing times ahead.
PART TWO: MANAGING YOUR TIME AND PRIORITIES
1:30pm
Case Study
Participants will explore what action they might take and what counsel they might offer if they found themselves in the situation confronting the Managing Partner in this case study.
Setting Your Strategic Agenda
While you may have a number of important objectives to tackle, to satisfy both your and your Board / Executive Committee's requirements, you need to start with establishing only your key imperatives.
Managing The Pace of Change
Learn how to focus your collective resources and energies on only your most important goals. Work with your leadership team to create real ownership of a few key priorities and develop your plan to mobilize the broader partnership.
3:00pm
Coffee Break
3:15pm
Avoiding Common Leadership Pitfalls
Many of your partners may be reluctant to mention that certain of your behaviors are off-putting or that you have a habit that annoys some of your colleagues and diminishes your support. Learn about some of the more common traits that can adversely impact the new managing partner and most importantly, how you can be derailed when under stress.
NOTE: Each registrant will be invited to participate in a confidential (Hogan) personality assessment designed to help identify how to cope with excessive stress.
Handling Difficult Interpersonal Challenges
Explore how to handle effectively some of the more sensitive and difficult scenarios that every firm leader is likely, at some time, to confront–from the partner who has difficulty treating others in the firm respectfully, to the partner who hoards the services of the star associates, to the partner who is very unhappy with his/her compensation.
Q & A
This concluding session will summarize, synthesize, debate, question and answer any of your “real world” management and leadership issues. As a group, we will determine and discuss those challenges unique to the new Firm Chair / Managing Partner.
4:00pm
Reception