In 1997, McKinsey & Company introduced the term “war for talent” to describe the ongoing battle organisations faced in attracting and retaining the best talent. Almost 30 years later, nothing has changed and yet everything has changed.
I want to address the war for talent inside law firms. It is a generational war between partners and associates. A chasm has emerged between what partners want from their associates and what associates want and expect from their partners and firms.
If law firms fail to embrace the challenges and opportunities thrown up by generational diversity, the workplace issues emerging from the pandemic will end up seeming like small fry.
The private practice cultural tectonic plates are moving. What is going on and what can be done?
The wild west
“It’s the wild west out there” is how one senior partner described his firm’s culture to me. This baby boomer partner was exasperated with the “entitled, lazy millennial associates who lack a backbone and want to leave early and be paid well”. (He wasn’t shy with words).
What prompted his outburst? He had been attending an associate forum which was part of the firm’s noble attempt to improve communication. He was prepared to talk about what he assumed would be the usual associate concerns – the track to partnership, bonuses, access to top clients, opportunities for advancement.
To his chargrin, the questions focused on none of the above. Not one question on the holy grail of partnership. Not one question on remuneration. Instead, he was asked about flexible-working, climate change and wellness. Bloody snowflakes.
Another senior partner recently complained to me during a leadership development session that her senior associate had done zero business development. In fact, the senior associate had been all over social media reaching out to existing clients and targeting new ones. However, for this baby boomer partner, that’s not how one does business development.
Stories such as these are ripe in private practice. It can feel as if the partners are from Mars and the associates are from Venus.
The mindset shift
There are four generations in the workplace today. The baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980), Generation Y/Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012).
The gulf between these generations is vast in terms of mindset. Generation Y want more than money from work. They want meaning. And if your firm can’t create meaning, they’ll shop around until another law firm can.
The millenials want a sense of belonging. They want to work with kindred spirits. If your clients trample all over the environment, yours is not a church that feels welcoming. At best, they will vocalise it. At worst, they will vote with their feet. The extent to which millennials want to work fewer hours has probably been exaggerated. But they are picky about with where they will work those hours.
For many younger lawyers, work is only be part of their identity. They are only prepared to give part of themselves to their law firm. If law firms require their lawyers to give all of themselves to reach the top, does that rule them out of partnership? If so, what are the alternative career paths? No-one seems to have the answer. Heads-up, I don’t.
Lack of role models
One mid-ranking associate at a U.S. firm and who was recently enrolled in one of our programmes, stated “I look at the female partners above me and the hours they work and the scarifices they make, and I don’t see myself.” She was a pregnant senior associate frustrated that the the female role models in her firm seemed more like Wonder Woman than a real woman trying to raise a family in 2024. If that’s what it took to become a partner, she didn’t want the badge.
One rule for partners and another for associates
Many associates look upwards and see partners who not only achieved partnership within a faster time-frame but many who would not survive the same scrutiny that todays aspiring partners are put through. They perceive the bar to partnership today higher than yesterday’s. They are being asked to jump through hoops their bosses never jumped through. That creates a sense of unfairness and resentment.
How can law firms bridge the generational divide?
Coach the team
I am surprised how few firms coach their lawyers in groups and/or teams. Like all organisations, law firms are systems. High-impact coaching is systemic. Get the associates and partners who work in the same teams in the same room. That’s how you build trust and psychological safety. We need to address the systemic issues, not just the individual issues or interpersonal conflict.
Cross-generational mentoring
After identifying where cross-generational collaboration is most needed, it can be invaluable to set up cross-generational mentoring schemes.
The partners will have knowledge and skills that are immensely valuable to the younger associates. In turn, the associates will likely have an undesratnding and excitement around new technology which can be disseminated.
Create an intergenerational forum
The firm referred to above that sent in the partner from Mars to address the associates from Venus had the right sentiment, just wrong execution.
A firm I worked with recently established training workshops addressing generational differences in language and other communication nuances. They had the millennials humously present on memes and emojis. Apparently a number of partners had been unable to follow the team’s What’sApp messages!
Be curious
A client of mine recently circulated a multigenerational workforce fact sheet which set out how each generation enjoys communicationg and their different modus operandi. It helped shatter some of the myths and stereotypes surrounding each generation.
We all need to be curious about the generations we are not part of and pay attention as to how we can build inclusive workplaces. Firms might want to consider employing an Inclusion and Diversity Consultant to brainstorm initiaves to suit their firm.
Firms can create workplaces that honour each generation’s idiodysncracies and working styles. Some employees enjoy standing up at their workstation, others prefer having a permemant desk and some want the option to for flexible working. It’s not necessarily a big deal, unless we make it a big deal. They can co-exist with a little effort and communication.
Conclusion
It doesn’t need to feel like the wild west.
I am not under-estimating the workplace challenges. Yes, I do see some younger lawyers with a sense of entitlement. Some want to work fewer hours and be paid a top wage. That won’t cut. They won’t survive in top law firms. Yes, survey after survey shows that fewer associates aspire to become partner. The law firm model is creaking but perhaps twas ever thus?
I believe there is less that separates the generations and more that unites us. Generational diversity could and should be a competitive advantage.
Human beimgs are relational creatures. There is an opportunity to create more relational workplaces which will benefit all generations. Relationships do not come easy to lawyers (ask my husband, I am one of them!) But we are all craving connection, young and old. So let’s build law firms that emphasise the relational.
Most baby boomers have spent their lives being part of and/or creating incredible law firms. And most millennials want to belong to something. How different is it?
One last thought. Don’t hold your breath for long. The war for talent will soon take another turn. Generation Alpha is getting ready to enter the workplace.
This article first appeared in ALM Law.Com