Gary (not his real name) is the managing partner of a second-tier professional service firm.
At a recent partners’ meeting Gary asked the question: “What big thing do we need to address to take us to the next level or avert a potential problem?” It was a genuine question and he wanted his fellow partners’ answers.
He was concerned when the answers came back saying “We’ve identified and are working on what matters most. There’s nothing big outstanding.” Gary was aware that all the issues they were working on were routine process improvement matters.
That’s when Gary realised he and his partners were too close to the business to see clearly what else might be there that was worthy of attention.
Gary called me and asked me to conduct a review of the business focussing on what employees and clients thought of the business and if they thought there were any big issues being ignored.
I asked Gary why he didn’t want to do it himself.
“David, I’m not certain I’ll get what I really need to hear” was Gary’s immediate answer. Gary is wise.
So I conducted a review including interviewing senior managers, long term employees and long term clients.
It took me three days to complete and then a day to write the report.
I had identified a key issue causing talented people to leave soon after joining; senior longer term people to look for employment elsewhere and clients who were considering seeking help elsewhere.
The issue was related to two senior partners who were approaching retirement. Everyone, other partners, employees and clients alike felt unable to raise the matter in case it damaged their relationships and damaged the standing of those partners.
My report also recommended a respectful way of the dealing with the issue.
Gary asked me to execute my recommendation.
The outcome was respectful, successful and appreciated by all concerned.
The big lessons for the partners were:
- They can be too close to see what needs attention beyond the obvious and the regular.
- There are possibly issues present that other people are aware of but feel unable to mention, even if asked. These are commonly called ‘elephants in the room’ and ‘sacred cows’.
- No matter how sensitive the issue is, respectful remediation can happen, surprisingly quickly and effectively.
What do you think?
