Managing Professionals
By Henry Holtzman

First Among Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals
By Patrick J. McKenna and David H. Maister
The Free Press
New York, N.Y.
(Scheduled for release in April 2002)
270 pages, $26.00 Only $18.20 at Amazon.com
 

Television presents us with more so-called “inside looks” of professional firms at work than most of us care to see. From unisex bathrooms and bumbling leadership at law firms to the predictably dithering management of ad agencies, the shows are long on entertainment and short on reality. Most of these fictional firms would last about a month in the harsh realities of Main Street.

Considering their focus on the interaction of individuals, it’s odd that the TV sitcoms usually miss the most important point of all: the high level of competency and creativity among the talented people who work in professional organizations. It’s precisely this issue that is the foundation of this book.

Authors McKenna and Maister believe there is a major difference between heading professional groups and managing other staff members. The authors emphasize their view that managing other staff members depends on rallying them to work as a team to accomplish what and how a task is to be done or a goal is to be reached. Using the same approach in a professional organization is like trying to herd cats. The background and training of professionals is to challenge and to analyze what is to be done and how it might be best accomplished. As a result, the authors note:

“Unfortunately, the challenge of managing professionals has led many firms and companies to believe that professionals are unmanageable, and as a result, often give up trying. Group leadership is frequently nonexistent, with group leaders (where they exist) focusing almost exclusively on administrative matters and doing no managing. We recommend precisely the opposite conclusion. The potential power of having well-coordinated groups is too great to abandon the task. Because managing professionals is complex, it requires more attention to management, not less.”

Aimed at those who have the responsibility of trying to manage professionals, the authors go on to suggest a fundamental difference in management technique. Instead of telling professionals as a group to follow specific guidelines and policies to reach their goals, let them know what the overall goal of the firm or department may be, and then tell them that you are available to support them in achieving those goals. Be careful when you’re changing your leadership style. If you define those goals too narrowly, you’ll be bombarded by endless e-mails insisting that goals should be broadened to include a particular group member’s theories, strategies and techniques.

McKenna and Maister believe that one of the keys to success in leading professionals is developing and refining the ability to coach. They note that coaching is “… the process by which you help another person fulfill his or her potential. It requires that you judge well when to intervene, and when to stay away.”

Knowing when to step in and when to keep your hands off an issue is precisely the tricky part of being a good leader. Fortunately, the authors bring a wealth of hands-on experience (their own and that of others) and offer step-by-step guidance on handling the coaching situation sensibly sensitively. As a matter of fact, it’s the way they handle all of the leadership styles and techniques they provide.

Well organized and well written, “First Among Equals” addresses the leadership and management issues of steering the professional workplace. The authors present approaches that will help guide those who must lead professionals so that their combined results are productive, effective and profitable.

In their book, the authors have described a leadership challenge that most people in professional firms have never been trained for. It’s not simply the cold logic of solving clients’ problems, but the difficult chore of dealing with their colleagues’ emotions. McKenna and Maister do a remarkably good job of it.