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The Talent
September 13, 2010 10:45 AM
Make It Happen: Expert Career Advice for Associates
Posted by Ed Shanahan
By Robin Sparkman
Law firms are good at hiring and firing associates, but when it comes to grooming them for career advancement...not so much. A new book, The Art and Science of Strategic Talent Management in Law Firms (Thomson Reuters), offers advice from the pros about finding mentors, getting coaching, career advancement, and mastering a firm's competency model. Fourteen professional development experts, most working in or with large law firms, contributed to the book, which is scheduled for release on September 28.
We asked three of the book's contributors to excerpt their chapters here.
In her chapter, Susan Manch, a principal at the consulting firm Shannon & Manch, considers the following question: How will you develop the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to ADD value to client work when you may not be able to DO client work? The answer: a lot depends on how well structured the firm's talent-management model is, Manch says.
Read Manch's excerpt, "Competency Models: Why Associates Should Care if Their Firms Have One."
Sari Fried-Fiori, chief professional development officer at Fulbright & Jaworski, takes things a step further. She explains how competency models are used to design professional development programs and offers specific advice for associates on how to leverage these programs (e.g., create an individual development plan to make sure you learn a specific skill set or accomplish a particular goal, rather than just relying on the goals the firm sets for you).
Read Fried-Fiori's excerpt, "Taking Control of Your Career."
Finally, Cynthia Pladziewicz, chief development officer at Thompson & Knight (she holds both a J.D. and a Ph.D.), drills down on coaching. As Pladziewicz sees it, whether an associate has an external professional coach or an internal coach at the firm, each and every young lawyer needs personal, hands-on direction that recognizes both the associate's and the firm's strategic goals.
Read Pladziewicz's excerpt, "Do Lawyers Need a Coach?"
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As a professional coach helping young executives, it is nice to hear another professional, Cynthia Pladziewicz, state the value of coaching to new associates. Dr. Jayne Gardner
Comment By Dr. Jayne Gardner - September 13, 2010 at 5:11 PM
First, I would like to second Dr. Gardner's comment. I am a former lawyer (and now a professional, certified coach)who works with young professionals and the coaching relationship can be an invaluable part of a person's professional development.
Second, I would like to support the SMART goals framework with one caveat. If goals are challenging enough (and the best ones are), the goal setter will encounter obstacles. Studies show that those who have developed a plan around those obstacles are most successful in achieving their goals. So, I would build into that framework a place for the goal setter to anticipate and think about ahead of time, what challenges might likely be encountered and pre-plan a course of action, to the extent possible.
Comment By Paula Davis-Laack - September 20, 2010 at 11:38 AM