It’s not about the hours

I’m working on a teaching module about time management, and I couldn’t wait to share this perspective about billable hours.  I know it will resonate deeply with many of you.  This blog post also addresses the myths of face time—or, its new equivalent, responding to emails after hours.

Friend, I want to liberate you.  I’m about to take those suckers down.  Are you ready?

Billables.

So many of you in private practice work extra and mostly worry extra because you want to “meet your hours” or your “billables weren’t great last week.”  Reasons vary, but it’s usually a vague sense of potential reputational consequences or a fatalistic feeling that you might lose your job at the firm.  

I know some of you have minimums, sure.  I want to show you that the hours minimums are just a shorthand for what actually matters.  It’s a shorthand that doesn’t work very well.  It becomes a distraction.  It’s a red herring for what matters in career success, even at a firm.  I want to free you from the chains of billable hours.

In 13 years practicing law and mentoring many associates and partners, I have never seen anyone have an issue because of their hours.  Ever.

At most, I’ll say sometimes low hours are a symptom of a deeper problem.

I’ve seen good lawyers not getting enough work because of poor relationships, lack of sponsorship within the firm, or quality issues in their work product that no one helped them address. 

I’ve seen associates iced out because no one enjoyed working with them and they didn’t want them to stick around.

I’ve even seen junior partners “assassinated” from the firm for nefarious reasons.  

Often there are systemic issues with staffing within the firm, or a practice group dries up, or a pandemic hits.

Still, no one lost their job or failed to make partner or faced other immediate consequences because of the hours.

Likewise, I’ve seen associates make partner or land a big case even though their hours weren’t great. Because they had strong relationships in the firm, strong personal brand, strong marketing and client development skills, or strong expertise.

If you worry about the hours, stop thinking about the hours.  Pay attention to those indicators.  Network within the firm.  Repair the relationships.  Up skill and become more valuable to the client.  Emphasize quality of work, or efficient turnaround, or positive client interactions.  Focus on developing expertise or broaden your exposure.  Be a leader to improve firm culture and morale. Market yourself.  Publish and speak and post and be a thought leader.  Invest in coaching and your personal brand. 

You own your reputation and the value you add.  Become known for what you want to be known for, instead of just the person who works a lot (or doesn’t).  IT’S NOT ABOUT THE HOURS.

Oh and hey, maybe you’re shooting for a bonus threshold—and that’s fine, own it.  If it’s your choice to go for the reward, own it, and that’s different. That looks like this:  I am choosing to spend my time this way so I can earn a bonus.  Make sure that aligns with your values and intentions for this month/year.  If you’re just doing it because it was a target they threw up on the board, or your neighbor is after it, then keep reading.

Let’s keep going, especially if you work in an environment away from billables.

Face time and emails.

It’s also not about face time or sending emails after hours.

It’s about how you make people feel when you interact them.  Your colleagues, your boss, your clients.

Ask yourself, how am I making these people feel when we interact?  Can they tell I’ve got this under control?  Do they feel I’m affable and ready to learn?  That I’m committed?  Do they feel heard, helped, supported when something matters?  Do they feel they can count on me?  Am I adding value?  Am I proactive, empathetic, creative?  Do they feel they can trust me? 

This is not a to-do list:  it will depend on who you are, how you work, the nature of your relationships.  You get to decide how you want them to feel.  Focus on creating that feeling in your interactions with them.  That generates a perception much more powerful than face time.

Y’all know I almost never work after standard hours.  I don’t even check work email on the weekends. And yet, I have colleagues and clients who have commented many times on how they know I am working so much for them, or I must be putting in all sort of extra hours, etc.  I definitely never said that, and it’s not even true!  But I made them feel that the work I was doing for them was important and a priority.  I made sure that when I responded to them, I was intentional and adding value. 

At the end of the day, it’s entirely about how you make people feel. 

That’s what matters.