AMLAW Firm, 43-Person Corporate Group
Situation/Need
This reasonably successful corporate practice group wanted to improve the overall performance of their team. They were a collegial group who, for the most part, genuinely liked each other. Their biggest challenges were lack of a cohesive vision and plan; poor teamwork, communication and role definition; and integrating many team members who had developed an “individualistic” working style. Team members working throughout the country, in remote offices, exacerbated these issues.
Approach
After meeting with the team leaders, we realized we needed to conduct a survey to determine the team’s strengths and weakness, their communication challenges, and what they wanted from the retreat. We also administered and debriefed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) with all team members in advance of the retreat.
During the retreat, we developed exercises to help them:
- Deepen their understanding of the MBTI distinctions and learn how to apply them.
- Learn a model for successful, high performing, and functioning teams.
- Gain a greater understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges facing their group.
- Set improvement goals and take action to remedy the challenges.
- Come up with more effective ways to perform important, shared activities.
- Commit to keeping these new ways of behaving and communicating alive.
Results
As a result of what they learned during the retreat and their subsequent behavioral changes, they experienced:
- A better understanding and appreciation for each other’s communication and behavioral differences.
- A greater sense of being on the same team.
- Greater trust.
- A common “operating guide” for more effective and harmonious teamwork.
- An improved ability to communicate with people, particularly those who may have historically been hard to communicate with.
- A common vision and team plan.
AMLAW Firm, 75 Person IP Litigation Group
Situation/Need
This litigation team had experienced a long history of success, until it ran into three major challenges. The challenges began when they settled two very large cases that had been keeping many on the team busy. This obviously drove down revenue. Next, an out-of-town firm raided several of the group’s best lawyers. This resulted in the team being short staffed in several key areas. Lastly, the group’s management had become complacent during the good years. These three challenges took a large toll on morale, many felt taken for granted.
The firm needed to quickly turn around the fortunes of this very important practice group. It needed to improve morale and get the group growing again. Further, the new practice group chair was very intent on changing the culture of the group. He wanted the environment to be much more collaborative, harmonious, and productive.
Approach
We determined early on that we needed to survey the remaining team members to uncover the real challenges facing the group. We used a combination of in-person interviews and questionnaires. The results helped guide the design of the retreat. One on the main complaints we heard from the almost all team members was “management is good at making plans, but bad at executing the plans.” This sentiment evolved into the retreat’s theme “Into Action.”
During the retreat, we developed exercises to help them:
- Gain a greater understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges facing their group.
- Discuss in small groups and at the full group level, their concerns. This gave them the opportunity to be “be heard.”
- Break into small groups and come up with solutions to the seven challenges they identified.
- Learn a model for successful, high-performing, and functioning teams.
- Break into their functional group and develop action plans with role assignments and due dates.
- Bond, have fun and improve morale over dinner and drinks.
Results
As a result of what they learned during the retreat and their subsequent actions, they experienced:
- A noticeable improvement in morale.
- A feeling that management had heard their complaints and was taking effective action to improve things.
- Improved collaboration and harmony on the small group teams.
- A greater sense of being on the same team.
- A common “operating guide” for more effective and harmonious teamwork.
- A practical and action-oriented team plan.
