Years ago, I met with a law firm management committee. They were interviewing me about setting up a client development coaching program. They asked who should participate.

I believe they thought that their lawyers who “needed coaching” should participate. I told them no, because lawyers who “need coaching” rarely have the right attitude. I mentioned I cannot help lawyers who are content with where they are, and I cannot help “talented” lawyers who think they have nothing to learn.

The lawyers who get the most out of the coaching program are the lawyers who are most motivated to learn and become the best lawyers they are capable of becoming. Those lawyers put the most into the coaching program and get the most out of it.

That is consistent with a quote from a Harvard Business Review article: What Can Coaches Do for You?

Ten years ago, most companies engaged a coach to help fix toxic behavior at the top. Today, most coaching is about developing the capabilities of high-potential performers.

I have written what it means to be coachable a couple of times recently. A few weeks ago I posted: Are You Coachable? and Client Development: Why I focus on the quality of your effort.

If you read Seth Godin’s blog, you know he recently addressed this very point in The truth about the war for talent. In the blog he argues that what separates winners from losers isn’t talent, it’s attitude. He is right. Look at the attributes he describes in the blog. Those are the very attributes I look for when I coach lawyers.

If you have those attributes, I would love to work with you. Better yet, if there are a group of lawyers in your firm with those attributes, I would love to work with your group.