Coaching as a technique for associates, senior associates or partners managing junior lawyers can be very effective, but there are challenges.
Firstly it feels like it takes too long. Secondly it would be much quicker just to tell them what to do. Thirdly they just want to be told what to do.
Let’s take a step back. Coaching is a technique useful when you want to develop a junior lawyer or paralegal, and when you want them to do more thinking. Coaching is about asking questions. If we’re telling we’re not coaching. If we’re asking questions to get them to think, we’re coaching.
It takes longer to coach the first time, but because it is a way of getting them to think, it will take less time the next time. In other words with coaching we develop their ability to think so that next time they may not need to ask, or may just need to check or verify.
So the idea is to try it and see how powerful coaching can be. But it does need practice, so if it doesn’t work too well at first, persevere, when it works it is very rewarding.
Coaching skills for lawyers