Three Reasons To Bring Your Team

I am excited about the upcoming Enhancement Retreat. Not only will it allow me to get out of my pajamas and put on “big-girl clothes” (those who work from home offices will understand the importance of that!) but this year we are doing some things that are new and exciting! I was asked to share what I’m most looking forward to about the retreat, and I honestly could not settle on only one thing. So, I’m going to cheat and say what I’m most looking forward to is the entire Day 2 of the program!

This year, we are allowing team members to have a session of their own away from the attorneys. So, while the lawyers are reviewing in-depth legal technical information (which is usually incredibly interesting to them and puts the team into a coma-like state) we will be “doing our thing” as team members in a different room.

The more I work with attorneys, the more I realize their mindset is drastically different from that of the support team. The overall goal and commitment is the same, but even after 15 years in this industry, the vast difference in perspective still surprises me at times. Having a separate session for team members is going to allow us to explore their mindset and support their needs directly.

We’ll be covering a lot on this day, but the three things I’m most excited about, and that I think will make the biggest difference for team members, are:

1. What is YOUR story and how is this conveyed by the role you fill? So often a firm’s marketing and message revolve around the attorneys and why they do what they do. Today, we will take a look at why team members do what they do, and how that makes a difference for the clients you serve. I know that sounds mushy, and some of you are surely thinking, “I don’t need to know why – I just do my job and I do it well!” But it is important. We spend too much time at work to not connect the dots on what it’s all really for. For example, I’ve stayed in the estate planning industry, in some way or another, for over 15 years. (Ouch! It hurts to count those years up, but considering my 20 year high school reunion just passed, the numbers don’t lie!) By mid-morning every team member will connect with why they do what they do, and what all the effort is for. Sometimes you need to know that to deal with getting through the tough and stressful times.
2. I also cannot wait for the afternoon of team day. We have some incredibly smart and innovative team members across the country in the LWP community. We are going to break into groups based on your role in your firm and lead conversations about how you succeed there. Funding coordinators will talk with other funding coordinators; drafting coordinators will share with other drafting coordinators; client service coordinators will connect with other client service coordinators, and so on. Putting all that brain power and experience together will result is some powerful learning.
3. One of the things about team day that will make a huge difference in the day-to-day life of support team members is the level of detail we will go through regarding the LWP process. Whereas attorneys need to understand it and know how to conduct the workshops and meetings, team members need an entirely different level of detail to be able to confidently do their jobs without chasing their tail all day. What do you print for meetings? What is the follow-up? Where do you find the items you need? What goes in the file? We will even be providing sample client “cheat sheets” so you can see what goes where.

We will cover all these details so you can go back to your firm and reduce the stress and confusion you can sometimes experience when you are implementing a system.

I love that in this retreat, attorneys and their team members will start off together, break apart for a day to receive training for their respective needs, then end together again with a powerful planning day. Members will connect, train and then put it all together in an action plan for 2014 so they can hit the ground running. I’m excited and I hope to see you there.

Are you registered for our 2013 Member Enhancement Retreat? If not, there is still time to invest in your firm, in your team and in your upcoming year. The hotel is sold out but we have made accommodations with another hotel and shuttle services. Click here. Register today.

Laney Lyons-Richardson, Implementation Coach for Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, and author of Don’t Be a Yes Chick: How to Stop Babysitting Your Boss, Transform Your Job and Work with a Dream Team Without Losing Your Sanity or Your Spirit in the Process.