The shorter your message, the greater your success as a leader

Good leaders communicate well. Without that ability, most leaders fail. But what do you communicate? What message motivates people and creates a path for them to follow you?

Successful law firm leaders communicate on two different levels. ?First, they provide a strategic direction ?that includes their vision for the firm. Second, they individualise a message ?for each firm member to encourage them to be more productive and successful. Three 'Cs' sum up how that strategic message should be delivered: consistent, concise and captivating.

Consistent

"It's my story and I'm sticking to it," ?should be the battle cry of every good leader. People respond to what they understand. Having a known direction and repeatable mission makes people comfortable and willing to follow. By contrast, constant changes in message and direction create confusion and ?apathy in the firm.

"Here we go again," becomes the rallying cry of the troops. Successful leaders create and follow a consistent message. Alternative or conflicting messages create doubt and lead ?to failure.

Concise

The longer the message, the more it dilutes itself. The ideal message tracks the firm's mission statement. It includes two or three salient points that resonate throughout the firm. Much as a golfer chases the simple, repeatable swing, good leaders seek a concise, repeatable message. The more precise the message, the more people embrace and follow it.

Captivating

It may be a bit of a stretch, but leaders must always be passionate about their message and its importance. They must also be interesting. The risk with giving a single, consistent message can be a tendency of the leader to 'mail it in'.

Each time a good leader speaks to the firm, he delivers his message with the same enthusiasm and passion that he had the first time he unveiled his vision. He injects some humour and makes his presentation believable and understandable. That helps to create a message that the firm not only believes, but follows.

Individual motivations

The strategic message sets the direction of the firm and is the backdrop to the individual messages. Every individual success moves the firm closer to ?achieving its collective goals, so each partner must understand how he helps the firm to succeed. Individually targeted messages must spell out each lawyer's role in executing firm strategy and push him to reach specific goals.

These roles differ depending on ?the skill set of each lawyer. Everyone ?has a different 'hot button': what may motivate one lawyer can have little ?impact on another. The good leader ?finds the right message to motivate ?each individual partner.

Finding that message means the ?leader must know who needs to be pushed, who needs to be praised and ?who needs to be left alone.

Never ask someone to do more than he can. Pushing people out of their ?comfort zone creates problems. On the other hand, pushing people to the ?outer edges of their comfort zones ?creates success.
Deliver a message that challenges lawyers, but doesn't overwhelm them. Individuals require a specific message ?that leaves no doubt as to what their leaders want them to do.

A law firm's financial success ?depends on lawyers working hours and charging and collecting fair rates. That makes law a simple business. All individual messages to lawyers should focus on attracting more clients and working harder to service them well.

Often, attracting clients and servicing them well requires two different skill ?sets. Understanding which lawyers are best at attracting clients and which are better at doing fee-earning work is a part of leadership.

Asking the lawyer who has great ?value to the firm as a service partner to ?go out and get business demoralises him and adds little to the firm's chances of success. Likewise, forcing a great rainmaker to stay at his desk to meet ?a high billable hour goal makes ?little sense.

In short, a good leader knows his people and what they do best. He helps them to set attainable goals that benefit the firm. Every individual meeting revolves around those goals and how the lawyer achieves them.

A leader who possesses good communication skills coupled with a consistent, concise message will be successful. No matter how well a leader communicates, unless the message resonates with his followers, he will ?not succeed.

Leadership quote of the month: ?"If you always put yourself first, the ?line behind you will be short".

?Julious P. Smith Jr is chair emeritus ?at US law firm Williams Mullen ?(www.williamsmullen.com)