Canadian Lawyer

30 J U L Y 2 0 1 7 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m calls. They procrastinate," he says. At its worst, depression, alcoholism and sub- stance abuse may occur. A coach's role is not the same as a therapist's, Solomon says, but coaching can be therapeutic and mitigate depres- sion. His approach is to be "neither a professional nag nor a cheerleader." Instead, he aims to develop a "structure of accountability" for the client. A Solomon client, a sole practitioner in his early 50s, was going through a divorce, had neglected his practice and was worried that he wasn't earning and saving enough to fund retirement. "Most lawyers are not accustomed to thinking strategically about their busi- ness," says Solomon. "They work in the business instead of on the business. We developed a strategy for getting him more clients and better-paying work. Most lawyers don't have a plan for that. We wrote out a plan." Solomon had the client identify one- year and five-year goals for revenues. Then, they decided on a set of discreet steps to achieve those goals. "We don't try big steps," he says. "The agreement is to do two or three items between coaching sessions. They're challenging but not overwhelming." And at each followup session, the client is account- able for having taken those steps. For example, the client had to meet with three other lawyers to seek refer- rals of business. He also had to meet with his real estate clients at their closings and asked them for referrals. (Solomon says he is "floored" by the number of lawyers who are reticent to ask for referrals. "There's this fear of failure, this fear of making mistakes.") Accountability drives the process forward. Rather than having to reinvent the practice, the client usually just has to make adjustments, says Solomon, citing the rule of thumb that "generally, 20 per cent of your practice brings in 80 per cent of your income." Recogniz- ing that, his client has shifted his prac- tice away from family law to do more real estate and wills and estates. He's increased his income and started to put away savings for retirement. Sheena MacAskill, a Toronto coach, has worked with, among others, senior lawyers who were perfectionists and often berated the students, juniors and secretaries producing work for them. "They might be mak- ing unreasonable demands and inappropriate comments, raising their voice or yelling in open areas where others were present," she says. Typi- cally, these kinds of clients are sent for coaching by managing partners in their firms. "'Technically, you're a good lawyer, and we want to keep you,' the managing partner will say. 'But we want you to adjust your behav- iour. We want you to be more collegial.'" These lawyers usually have high IQs but low EQs — or emotional intel- ligence, says MacAskill. "The coaching goal is to raise their self-aware- ness," she says. "They need tweaking on the interpersonal skills. Most of these clients, though not all, are aware they have a problem and want to change. They just need the tools to make the changes." The first step is to give the client feedback based on psychometric assessments that MacAskill administers. The second step is recognizing the triggers for their outbursts. Often, the trigger is stress-related: They may be tired or overworked. MacAskill teaches these clients to pause, withhold their reactions and ask themselves if it's really worth getting upset about this issue or with this person. "Once they learn to pause," she says, "the moment passes and the outburst is averted. Invariably, they realize that the issue wasn't worth getting upset about in the first place." The client then learns to shift from a "judger" to a "learner" mindset. Lawyers are taught to be critical thinkers and quick decision-makers, but they need to be curious, too, says MacAskill. "They need to ask: 'Did I give proper instructions to the young lawyer I'm upset with? Did the associate have sufficient time to finish the project ? Is there something else going on with this person that's affecting their work?'" The client learns that their default instinct should not be to heap blame. It's important for the client to have a long enough engagement with the coach to sustain the change in behaviour. Typically, MacAskill sees a cli- ent every two to three weeks for six months or longer. When the coaching concludes, the client is encouraged to have a followup or support system in place. One such client, a female partner, now confides in a trusted peer at her firm that she has gone for coaching. "Whenever she feels the stress building and feels she might lash out, she goes into the other partner's office just to defuse." Ian Solomon (continued)

• Cover