One of the themes I recur to here is the indispensable role of
leadership, and the ineffability of what makes a great leader. Occasionally
a leader will simply "emerge" as the breathtakingly obvious choice,
a sort of leader by acclamation (although this is often so only
in hindsight: Lincoln, for example, thought he would lose
the election of 1864), but in more ordinary times with more evenly
matched contenders, there is no universally recognized standout.
One of the more important questions thus becomes, "How does a
firm select a leader? What is the actual process?" For
the Fortune 1000, CEO succession planning can be raised to a high
art—or not—with the involvement of consultants, recruiters,
etc. Assuming that such a self-conscious and open process
is not in most law firms’ futures any time soon, is the traditional
and seemingly straightforward election of a managing partner the
optimum procedure?
Not at all, argues this consultant. We
know from conventional elections that hard truths are rarely the
road to office, but a managing partner may need to make hard choices. One
who "runs" on a platform of more or less drastic change may be
absolutely right, but he reminds me of Adlai Stevenson’s famous
quip when a supporter told him "you have the support of every intelligent
American." Stevenson: "Fine, but the problem is,
I need to win." Being smart about the firm’s situation
does not automatically translate to electability.
What, then, is a superior alternative? Imagine a consultative
process where the firm’s thought leaders are probed about what
the firm needs done and who among their ranks might best be able
to do it. It is not difficult to imagine that such a procedure,
undertaken of course with the most scrupulous integrity and discretion,
could produce one, or at most a handful, of strong candidates. Asking
each of those candidates more directly, then, about their vision
for the firm might narrow the field further.
Or, you could challenge them (as apparently happened with our
consultant) and see what mettle they’re made of.
The moral is that managing partners should not be afraid to lead: Most
partners want to practice law and serve their clients, and what
they mostly need to know about the firm is that it has a vision
of where it’s going and is determined to get there. They
need, that is, a leader.
