Lawyers are less well-suited to handling difficult situations and coping with uncertainty than other professionals, new research has found.
The study, by former law firm graduate recruiter Edward Walker, asked lawyers and professionals in other industries to complete the High Potential Traits Indicator (HPTI), a personality tool that tests individuals’ suitability for a leadership roles.
The results showed that, on average, non-lawyers on average scored higher than lawyers on measures of “ambiguity acceptance” and “risk approach.”
However, among lawyers, partners scored better than non-partners for these traits, suggesting that partners are better-equipped to handle uncertain situations.
There was no significant difference between lawyers and other professionals on the measured traits of calmness/anxiety, curiosity, and competitiveness.
Male lawyers scored higher than female lawyers in the ‘competitiveness’ category as well as on the ‘risk approach’ metric.
Walker told Lawyer 2B that the research had interesting implications for selecting and developing leaders in law firms.
He said: “The early identification of individuals with leadership potential is of significant importance to the future success of all organisations. This is particularly true for law firms who are restricted in their ability to appoint individuals with proven leadership capability from other industry sectors.”
“Cognitive ability and personality traits are the two most reliable predictors of future success; it therefore makes logical sense that firms pay careful attention to both when recruiting and developing their lawyers.
“Firms that fail to do this are at serious risk of promoting individuals into leadership positions that they are ill-equipped to succeed in.”
Interesting, as most research into legal psychometrics treats “lawyers” as generic, yet this study suggest that they differ by both gender and seniority. I’m not sure, however, that equating getting to partner (seniority) is the same as leadership. I would suggest that the biggest challenge in most firms is not identifying the appropriate leadership traits, it’s finding any partner who wants any form of leadership role. Succession plans are normally non-existent. The rewards of law firm leadership – whether at the firm, departmental or sector level – are few: in fact most firms require incumbents to continue with a full client workload and no financial recognition for their willingness to take responsibility.
Jamie, thanks for taking the time to respond and share your thoughts. The question you raise, ‘Are partners really leaders?’ is a really important one and it is something that my research touched upon briefly.
When conducting the research I was able to compare those partners with senior management responsibility (i.e. running a firm or practice area) with those without this level of responsibility. The personality differences between these two groups were significant in a number of ways. However, because the overall number of partners with senior management responsibility in the sample was quite low I am cautious about generalising these results at this stage. It is definitely an area I would like to research in more detail in the future.
If you are interested in reading a more detailed summary of the research you can access it using this link – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/influence-personality-leadership-potential-lawyers-edward-walker