Consider consultation: in corporates, the board and leadership team make the decisions that best serve shareholders and employees. But professional services partners have skin in the game: “I put equity into this. You owe it to me to consult me.” Overindex on consultation, and you’ll get nothing done. Behave like a corporation, and partners start to feel disenfranchised. Lest we forget: people, not widgets, are the revenue generators.  

Culture works inside out  

Culture is “the way we do things around here.” Failing to balance consultation and momentum is just one example of just how tricky the culture question can be. Richard Branson has a great answer: “The client doesn’t come first. Your people do. If you take care of your people, they’ll take care of the client.” When we experience bad service in a restaurant or clothing store, it’s usually because the individual doesn’t care about the brand. They cash their pay check and go home. But if you look after your people, they know you have their back.  

When I started my executive and board search firm 17 years ago, I instilled that “do the right thing” behavior. Now it manifests without me. If you neglect your people, they won’t show up for you, and the client will feel that. Show up unified and cohesive, and the client will feel that, too.  

Money or meaning? 

There are 82 games in an NHL hockey season. I could say: “We’re going to win 62 of these.” On game number 2, our star player is injured, so we win less. As long as everyone tries as hard as they can, every night, at the end of the season we’ll add up the points and re-group. 

Based on years of senior search assignments for law and accounting firms, here’s the secret sauce for a successful culture: belonging, mitigating isolation, mentorship. A team that wins and loses together. Yet 60-70% of senior people still insist: “My job is to sell as much time as I can, at as high a rate as possible, so we can all maintain our lifestyles.” 

There’s a meme from Mad Men where the assistant asks, “Where’s the thanks for my ideas?” and the response is: “It’s your paycheck.” That mindset persists. “I don’t owe you handholding. I owe you great work, and you owe me great work in return. Then we’ll all be wealthy and happy.” Aside the annual performance review, too few firms let people know how they’re doing.   

Culture is also fueled by compensation models. The more mercenary and competitive your structure, the less you're going to market as one firm. For example, remove origination credit on a new file, and you take out those sharp elbows around client ‘ownership’. A team of bank robbers might say: “let’s pull off the heist, dump the cash on the kitchen table, and then figure out a fair way to honor everyone’s contribution.” Instead, firms bog themselves down upfront. “I scouted the location, so I get 20%, you drove the car, so you get 10%…” And the driver says, “Hey! Without me we’d never have got away!” They tie themselves in knots and lose the opportunity. Getting compensation right takes a unique leader and team buyin. 

Be honest about who you are 

When I entered a law firm in 1997, it was assumed I would sacrifice my health, relationships, sanity, marriage, and kids to pursue a partnership. But that ‘up or out’ philosophy is shifting. There’s an XY axis with a magic spot: you can do great work, have bad days, and generate decent revenue. But we must be intentional and keep the eye on the culture ball. The proof is in turnover, retention, and trust. 

Professional services firms repeatedly sell culture as a talent attraction factor. Some are mercenary and traditional. I have more respect for those who are honest upfront, than for the ‘baitandswitch’ approach: leading with fluff and then hitting incomers with a mallet.  

Candidates deserve an informed choice. Today, many still want to hitch their wagon to money, and that’s fine. But many are more moved by meaning. Once they’re onboard, that old adage about ‘living the values’ remains. Walk the talk. Back it up. Otherwise people will say, “This is just a slogan. I don’t see it when I show up every day. No thanks, I’m out.”