Phil, a senior partner at the fictitious law firm of Smith & Same, located in Anywhere, New Zealand, works closely with his younger partner Sue. Recently, Phil sent me an unexpected email. It was unexpected (if not startling) because he presents as a relaxed, genial and unflappable person who remains calm in the eye of the storm.
The email read:
“Emily: Am confronted with a very challenging and upsetting personnel issue – at my wits end. Please call me as soon as possible. Phil”
When I reached Phil, he said: “Sue, as you know, is the partner with whom I have worked most closely and whom I hope will ultimately take over my practice. Last week, she really let me down with a client, both technically and in terms of her professional integrity. I haven’t told her this, but I need to do something about it soon. Either we can turn this around or the implications are really concerning. What shall I do?”
I said: “Phil, you need to have a difficult conversation with Sue and give her some feedback about what happened. You have one chance to do it right the first time.
Let’s talk about how to do that.”
Here’s what we discussed