There are signs that merger activity is on the increase.  Mergers are a great way of achieving solutions to problems such as how to increase fee income, widen the pool of technical expertise and/or achieve more geographical reach but to be successful they need a great deal of effort and skill on the part of the senior management team.  A merger can easily distract people for up to two years with the result that instead of accelerating business growth, it can actually stifle it.

Statistically most mergers fail as combining two ‘bad’ firms doesn’t make one ‘good’ one.  In my experience, successful mergers are based on shared values and aspirations rather than whether the figures work. To succeed both firms and all of their people must want to work together and feel that the new business will succeed in the long-term.

Talking about values may seem too ‘soft’ a subject at the outset of merger meetings and it is much easier prepare agendas to look at lists of clients and business accounts. However, the earlier that values are aired and agreed the better. Not only does this exercise allow people to see that both firms have a lot in common, they can provide a frame of reference for later negotiations, particularly when misunderstandings and surprises occur.

They also provide re-assurance to all of both sets of partners that the combined firm will continue to represent what is important to everyone and as a result, will make the changes that will inevitably be required easier to deal with.

Given that people are in the middle of their summer break, it may seem odd to be writing about the importance of having open discussions about work/life balance.

However, I think it is important to emphasise that however bad the current market appears in relation to profit margins and fee generation that if work/life balance is not identified as a critical success factor for your business it should be.

Up until about twenty years ago, it was accepted that young professionals would work hard motivated by the ‘carrot’ of partnership that would bring an assured life-style and income stream.  The last recession broke that premise with the result that people became more careful about accepting an offer to become a partner.

The current financial worries are now coupled with 24 hour access and demands.   Partners who are now in their mid to late 50s can see an end to these pressures in sight but new partners in their 30s need to be over about putting work/life balance issues on the table at Partners’ meetings and in their business plans.  It is not being ‘wimpy’ to do this as failing to talk about this openly and sensibly will result in burnt-out, stress and mistakes and as a result, have a damaging effect on the firm’s profit and viability.

Given that good professionals prefer to self manage as much as possible, their leaders are left with one very important and vital role to perform.

They MUST deal with bad behaviour.  The strengths of professionalism lie in people’s ability to act independently, caring about what they do and the quality of the services they provide.   However, under stress the negatives of these attributes can appear leading to high handedness, aggressiveness and arrogance.

If unacceptable behaviour is allowed to happen without challenge, it will have both a direct and indirect effect on the organisation.  It directly damages the recipient, resulting in people leaving, employment tribunals and bad publicity. It also causes health and stress-related problems for everyone involved – the recipient, the people causing the problem and their managers. It also creates a spiral of demotivation. Good people who are striving to mitigate the effects of bad behaviour will become disaffected. Others will become cynical of the organisation and its leadership with dealing with bad behaviour providing a litmus test of management. When they see senior people unable or unwilling to tackle this very tangible challenge to leadership, it provides them with demonstrable illustrations of the weakness of management. It allows them to say ‘nothing will ever change here, so what is the point in supporting the firm?’ and undermine any attempt to introduce change on whatever topic.

Leaders must take all of this head on.  Regardless of how senior the person is, there is no excuse for bullying and belittling other people.  In many cases, these people have limited if any self-awareness.  In some cases, there will be an underlying health or family problem that has triggered this stress reaction.  In others, the person has become inured to the effect that his or her behaviour has on other people and in a small number of examples, the individual in question thinks that it is ‘clever’ to behave like this.

Now that market conditions are becoming more positive, it is vital to remember that the good people in your organisation always have the opportunity to leave. It is soul destroying being asked to do difficult work without any recognition or even, thanks.  The willing horses can get very tired of seeing the people who behave badly getting all of the attention!

Please spend some time with your good people now to find out how they are and what they want to achieve.  Then do something about supporting them by sourcing some learning and development to help them move forward.  Please do not take their loyalty and commitment for granted.