While a new year is the perfect time to reflect and reframe long-term organizational objectives, many law firm owners struggle with identifying and setting goals that will move the firm closer to those overall targets.
Effective goal-setting is not just about achieving outcomes — it’s an opportunity to empower and develop your team. Successful firms have cultures that focus on team member development and allow leaders to step out of the weeds and focus on the big-picture results. As a law firm owner, it is your responsibility to hold your team accountable by giving them full ownership of the research, planning, and execution of the projects needed to achieve firm goals.
ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY
Accountability refers to the acceptance of responsibility for initiatives, projects, or tasks that further a business’s objectives.
When every member of the firm understands their role in reaching firm goals, it creates a sense of shared responsibility and purpose. This collective effort enhances the firm’s ability to consistently and efficiently meet targets and encourages collaboration among team members.
It also allows firm leaders to track progress toward desired outcomes. It’s important that no matter what goal-setting tactic you use, you are monitoring progress at set intervals to ensure your team is moving in the right direction.
Establishing SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) helps individuals set clear action items that are tied back to desired outcomes. This approach to goal-setting provides clarity to team members by defining objectives, which eliminates ambiguity and ensures everyone involved understands the exact nature and scope of the goal. If it’s unclear who is responsible for the action item, the lack of accountability will hinder progress.
When you are setting goals with your team, make sure to share your expectations about the results you want to see from their work, as well as the resources they will have access to accomplish this goal (e.g. other team members, new technology, budget, community leaders, etc.) and how you plan to measure their progress.
Providing a structured and systematic approach to goal-setting fosters clarity and accountability. This framework enhances the likelihood of success and contributes to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of your firm’s initiatives.
CLARITY IS KINDNESS
Honesty is essential to teams sharing information, overcoming obstacles, and trusting one another in their roles toward achieving goals. A recent Forbes article suggested that organizational transparency has three key benefits:
- Increased employee engagement
- Higher profitability
- Reinforced trust
Transparency fosters collaboration among team members, boosts retention rates, and cultivates a positive work culture. It also instills a better sense of accountability within the firm’s culture, as individuals understand the impact of their contributions on the collective success of the organization.
When you share the “why” behind decisions, you are facilitating a sense of ownership among team members. When individuals feel they are part of the decision-making process and understand the impact of their work, they are more likely to take ownership of their responsibilities and hold themselves accountable for the outcomes.
It’s important to remember that if you want accountability in your firm, you have to start with transparency. As a leader, be open with your team. Share the thought process behind your decisions, and be clear about your expectations for your employees.
GOAL-SETTING HELPS EVERYONE
Goal-setting is critical to challenging and developing your team. It offers an opportunity to improve a process, address a challenge, or increase revenue while also serving as an important way to invest in your team members’ growth.
Instead of delegating and empowering their teams to take on important initiatives, many firm owners make the mistake of keeping the responsibility of achieving goals for themselves. This mindset can have detrimental effects on the business through decreased productivity, lower profits, high turnover, and, in some cases, the dissolution of the firm.
Successful entrepreneurial leaders know they cannot run their businesses on their own. A profitable organization comes from entrusting team members and managers to make decisions and lead crucial projects.
As a law firm scales, the firm owner plays a crucial role in staff development, particularly in fostering growth and challenging high-performing contributors. Think of it this way: goals serve as occasions for employees to learn, grow, and take on leadership roles — all of which contribute to the overall capacity and future success of the firm.
HOW TO CREATE A CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Leading a business can be a lonely endeavor. The pressures of payroll, client interaction, and supporting your team can leave firm owners feeling isolated and like the weight of the world is on their shoulders.
Many times, leaders need the perspective of experienced professionals outside the firm to help them achieve clarity and cut through all the noise and daily grind. Having an informed opinion from someone who understands the problems you face but is outside of your day-to-day interactions can help you solve problems with an unbiased perspective.
Crisp Coach provides you an avenue to unlock your potential as a leader and better understand the role accountability can play in the vision, goals, and growth of your firm. This program gives firm owners a dedicated space to reflect on their firms, organize goals under a strategic framework, develop performance metrics, establish core processes, identify necessary business units, and build and evaluate teams.
By fostering a culture of accountability and transparency, law firm owners can turn goals into reality. Set a clear path for success in 2024 with your Crisp Coach — the key to unlocking your leadership potential and achieving unparalleled growth.
