If you’re a senior member of your firm who recently did the right thing for your firm – trained your Managing Partner successor, handed over a Practice Group Leader role, transitioned a key client, or committed any other act that appears to be against your own self-interest – and you’re now waiting patiently for some expression of gratitude or some acknowledgement of a job well done…and nothing is forthcoming…I’m here to help.
Here you go –
“On behalf of the entire firm—and especially those of us who will benefit immediately and dramatically from your selfless acts—thank you. Your commitment to doing what’s right for the institution, even when your actions are not aligned with your self-interests, sets the standard. We appreciate your leadership, your generosity, and the way you’ve handled this transition. It’s the kind of example everyone should follow.”
Note: In offering this sentiment, I express no opinion as to how well you actually did your job. We’re going to assume you were great in your prior role, crushed your transition process and are now anticipating the small indulgence of someone saying, “thank you.” That shouldn’t be too much to ask, right? Well, it can be complicated, which is why we offer the above paragraph.
I’ve written before on the challenges of navigating different generational perspectives and expectations. I return to the topic now because when generations misread each other’s actions (or lack thereof), important acts or omissions can result in major “thuds.” Law firms don’t handle thuds particularly well.
Recently, in leadership succession work (mostly Managing Partner successions and key client transitions), I’ve met some terrific senior partners who not only did their jobs well but also trained their replacements and facilitated thoughtful handoffs. Publicly, they’ll tell you it’s all in a day’s work and that they expect nothing in return. Privately, however, I sometimes sense these senior states-people would like a modicum of gratitude from the beneficiaries and/or the firm—and are a little stunned when their expectations are met with the sound of crickets chirping and everyone sprinting to the next item on a lengthy management to-do list.
For the younger, benefiting partners, it’s worth considering what your benefactor might be thinking. Specifically:
- “I’m voluntarily giving up some/all my power, standing, and respect both inside the firm and in the broader legal community. This has been my life’s work, and it’s alarming watching it move on without me.”
- “Once I do this, I can’t un-do it. This is a final, career-defining decision—not a trial balloon.”
- “My compensation is likely to decline as a result of me doing what is in the best interests of the firm. I could have hung on and done nothing.”
- “I don’t really know how I’ll be treated once the handoff is complete.”
- “I suddenly feel mortal and apparently subject to an expiration date so please don’t use this as a first step to push me out of here.”
Amid these anxieties and expected negative outcomes, a simple thank you can provide closure to this chapter—especially if the partner will continue in some ongoing role at the firm. Everyone wants an engaged Senior Counsel (or whatever title fits), not a quietly wounded and emotionally checked-out former partner who sacrifices decades of judgment and institutional memory.
For the benefit of the transitioning partners, I frequently hear equally valid sentiments from those who directly profit from your largesse. Specifically:
- “This is a dynamic time in the practice of law. We need fresh ideas because the tactics and models that got us here are no longer applicable.”
- “For years, I was told to pay my dues and be patient. I did. No one threw me a parade while I was doing what was supposedly in the best interests of the firm.”
- “I was told I was ready for this years ago. Why did my development have to wait?”
- “I’ve helped (Senior Partner) generate a ton of revenue from these clients while the lion’s share of the profits went elsewhere. It’s my turn.”
- “These clients call me directly now and see me as the relationship partner. If I wanted to, I could take them elsewhere.”
- “For the good of the firm and each client relationship, these transitions should occur automatically once a Partner hits age 65.”
I’m not taking sides. Perceptions are realities and both sides can be right. Furthermore, I want both sides to feel as good about each of these transitions/transactions as possible. For the receiving/longer-term/benefitting party, this is easy because there is runway and a benefit. For the giving/short-term/charitable party, however, there is – sometimes – the need for a little gesture that is far more important than many realize.
When this sometimes imperceptible need is ignored, any important transition can go “thud” with long-lasting impacts. Here are some thuds I’m trying to avoid:
- A valuable senior partner disengages rather than continues to contribute—taking decades of judgment, relationships, and institutional memory with them.
- Future transitions get delayed further because no one wants to be the next person left standing in awkward silence and treated poorly.
- The firm’s culture suffers preventable dings, some of which last many years even if untrue or repaired.
- An ugly professional divorce that everyone insists was “unavoidable” five minutes after ignoring the avoidable part.
A little closure goes a long way. A little gesture works wonders. If you’re the Younger Partner, please take this message to heart and act…but only if it’s sincere. Finally, if you’re the senior Partner referenced above and you are a bit disappointed in the response to your actions, don’t immediately think the worst of those around you. They have their own realities and rationales, and plenty of distractions. Would I like them to offer some modicum of gratitude? Of course (if truly deserved), but in the absence of such a gesture, please accept the thank you note included above. Some of your Partners are thinking it…even if they don’t say it.
Finally, for reading this piece – thank you. I appreciate it.
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