It's almost the weekend. Last Friday night I was having drinks at the cool Mexican restaurant in my building, when I ran into a couple of transaction lawyers who are my friends. Times are tough in the legal profession, especially for them. We drink, we eat, we drink some more. I mention a few ideas on how they can help their firm develop business -- some ideas to talk about with the partners. One looks aghast: "If I did that, I wouldn't be fired. They would just cut off my work -- the oxygen of billable hours. Never suggest. They take it as criticism." We did a shot and went on our ways. Why does this lawyer think this? Friday night turned into Saturday night, and I was flipping though my back issues of the Harvard Business Review and stumbled across "Why Employees Are Afraid to Speak" by James R. Detert and Amy C. Edmondson. Turns out their research explains why. They conclude that employees fear reprisal for voicing their opinions but have no factual basis to believe reprisal will result from doing so. (I reflect on my friend's fear and realize the conclusions of Detert and Edmondson may be true for a regular company but perhaps not for firms. More on that in a minute.) To dispel this myth, they suggest that a company do the following:
- Have the execs explicitly acknowledge the value of others' ideas.
- Challenge the myths of punishment for speaking up by encouraging open discussion of new ideas. Don't limit same to one-on-one talks with insecure superiors.
- Let employees who make worthwhile suggestions share in cost savings or revenue generation.
It's a good article. Now, back to firms. Firms, unlike companies, are not rational. They are built on hierarchy. Hierarchy says: "I paid my dues, and I am now the boss. You pay your dues, and you can speak up. Until then, keep quiet." It is often -- not always -- said in a nicer way, but that's the guts of it. Lawyers who say what they think (no matter how well meaning) will, at many firms, get hammered -- but generally quietly. After all, it is a firm. My friend's survival instincts are well honed. I need to call her. I don't want her being influenced by my ideas and pulling a Jerry McGuire.
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