20 Ways to Become a Leader

Wisconsin Lawyer
Volume 77, Number 3
March 2004

Here are 20 ways to develop attorneys’ leadership competencies, which will increase attorneys’ job satisfaction, and improve business outcomes.

Research on leadership indicates that 50 to 75 percent of organizations are currently managed by people lacking in leadership competence. [1] They are hired or promoted based on technical competence, business knowledge, and politics - not on leadership skill. Such managers often manage by crisis; are poor communicators; are insensitive to moral issues; are mistrustful, over-controlling and micro-managing; fail to follow through on commitments they’ve made; and are easily excitable and explosive. The result is low morale, alienated employees, and costly attrition. Since the best business outcomes are achieved by satisfied employees, the legal profession can only gain by an increasing focus on the development of attorneys’ leadership competencies.