Every law firm believes it has a great culture, and lawyer leaders all believe they manage (maybe even lead) well.

But law firm stress and burnout statistics don’t bear that out.

And it’s not just because of the number of hours attorneys work (yes, that contributes to it but there’s more to this issue).

The biggest issue?

Firm culture.

The problem is that too many law firm leaders (and even non-lawyer leaders) think their culture is some semblance of their mission statement and/or guiding principles.

Yes, those can have an impact on workplace culture, but it isn't everything.

Workplace culture can best be described as the daily experiences of regular, everyday people on the job. And THAT is created primarily by decisions and behavior of leadership.

So, how do you create a better culture?

Stop obsessing on output, start focusing on input.

Here’s what that means (for the leaders out there):

1. Show up with the mood and intensity you want out of everyone else.

2. Don’t dictate the how. Instead, rely on the fact that you hired smart people and let them do their thing.

3. Support people by taking time to explain and answer questions, and creating good systems/processes.

True leaders understand that the best outcome is a byproduct of the input. When you focus on input you’ll get better output.

Even better, you’ll create a healthy culture.

XO,

Heather

P.S. For more about good management and leadership, listen to today’s interview with Brian Beckom about what makes a good leader >>>here.