Last month I went to New Jersey to help a firm office launch its own internal client development coaching program. I enjoyed the experience, in part because I have for years wanted to help law firms by “coaching the coaches.”
I hope to work with lawyers and marketing professionals who will go back to their firms and coach associates. The first step will be for the coaches to come to Dallas and work with me to get started. In that kick-off session, we will cover these topics:
How to select the right participants-Key to program success
- How many lawyers should be in the program, how long it should last and how often there should be training/teaching and coaching
- How to get started with the program-coaching questions to get to know the lawyers
- Differences between the teaching part of the program and coaching part of the program
- What to cover in the first group meeting-including getting the group to commit to 25 actions
- Quarterly teaching and training group meetings-Topics, workbook materials, how to provide experiential learning
- How to prepare and most effectively conduct the first one-on-one coaching sessions
- How to prepare and most effectively conduct the subsequent coaching sessions
- Proven ways to enable the participants to be accountable
- How to conduct self-assessments at the end of the program
- How to keep the momentum going when the program ends
After, the initial work outlined above, I plan to be on-call to answer questions. I plan to also offer webinar presentations for the group being coached each month that will serve as a starting point for group discussion and experiential learning after my presentation.
If your firm is contemplating starting an internal coaching program like the New Jersey office, I would value the opportunity to help you.