Insights

Hosted by Dr. Heidi K. Gardner and Ivan Matviak, the Smarter Collaboration podcast uses real-world examples to better understand what smarter collaboration looks like - and how it can go wrong.

Smarter Collaboration

This indispensable new book lays out a pragmatic action plan blending rich stories, new empirical research, and loads of practical advice to help companies thrive by collaborating more effectively.

Smart Collaboration

Organizations earn higher margins, inspire greater customer loyalty, produce more innovative work, and attract and retain the best talent when specialists engage in Smart Collaboration across boundaries.

Boards of Directors

Boards of directors face increasing pressure to diversify their ranks, stay on top of regulatory and technological advances, hold executives accountable, and improve their functioning. Yet, they’re susceptible to all the foibles of human dynamics.

Lateral hiring

To generate competitive advantage through lateral hiring, it’s not enough just to optimize laterals’ individual capabilities. You need to integrate them so that your whole business generates more value.

Over-committed organisations

The “dark side” of collaboration emerges when people are stretched too thin across many projects, often with competing priorities and deadlines. How can you mitigate the downsides of an over-committed organization while reaping the benefits of Smart Collaboration?…

In-house legal teams

Today’s complex business problems span departments, disciplines and geographies. Savvy in-house lawyers know that collaboration across organizational silos and with external organizations is critically important. But how?…

Leadership and performance

Leadership must permeate an organization—it’s too important to leave only to those with a formal title. Our research delves into the tools, techniques and topics that are essential for leading high performing organizations.

Sector leadership

Clients increasingly expect service that is tailored to their specific industry—and help in learning from more advanced sectors or those that pose potential threats. You need to collaborate with other sector experts to build an integrated, value-added offering.

Lateral hiring

To generate competitive advantage through lateral hiring, it's not enough just to optimize laterals' individual capabilities. You need to integrate them so that your whole business generates more value.

Most lateral hiring fails to generate strategic or financial returns. To key to maximizing your investment lies in building the business case pre-hiring and thoroughly integrating new joiners within their first few months. These actions ensure that laterals can engage in Smart Collaboration with their new peers. Yet, many firms spend disproportionate resources on cultivating and interviewing prospects and neglect critical aspects of analytics and accountability.

Our empirical research dissects the pitfalls of current lateral hiring practices and discuss what leaders can do about it. Using data, examples and case studies, we break down the three stages of hiring, provide guidance on how to assess your existing process, and recommend practical steps to yield the biggest return on your effort.

Publications

PUBLICATION TITLE / Smart Collaboration for Lateral Hiring: Successful Strategies to Recruit and Integrate Laterals in Law Firms

Lateral hires who engage in collaborative work with their new colleagues are significantly more likely to stay longer with their firm, to hit or exceed their targets, and to thrive professionally. Our empirical research proves it. Get the practical tools to get the best results.

Publication: Book, published by Globe Business & Law Publishing

Year: 2018

Links:
Global Law & Business – http://bit.ly/2JRrjue

Amazon – https://amzn.to/2NiCL41

PUBLICATION TITLE / Integrating Lateral Hires: The Key to Retention and Productivity

In today's competitive marketplace, attracting and retaining high-cost lateral hires is critical. The talent (and firm) is set up for success if hiring does not only mean effective recruiting and interviewing. Clear and data driven pre-hiring strategy and post-hiring integration with accountability can help lateral hires to thrive. It, however, requires the firm to be setup to foster lateral-incumbent collaboration.

Journal: The American Lawyer

Year: February 2019

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Integrating Lateral Hires: The Key to Retention and Productivity

PUBLICATION TITLE / Smart Collaboration: The Lateral Hiring Paradox

Collaboration, done right, institutionalizes the client, such that the client will remain with the firm even if a partner departs. Laterals are often get hired based on the claimed size of their portable business, which means that firms are hiring lone wolves. The paradox can be solved with strategic lateral hiring process that builds in accountability, raises the probability of attracting collaboration-minded partners and closely follows a plan for integration.

Journal: Professional Development Quarterly

Year: 2019

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PUBLICATION TITLE / Podcast

Year: 2017

Goodwin’s Chairman David Hashmall interviews Dr. Gardner about her new book “Smart Collaboration for Lateral Hiring“, the link between a firm’s culture and its lateral recruitment efforts, the building blocks of a successful lateral integration program, how recruitment tactics differ across geographies, and more.

Link: https://www.goodwinlaw.com/publications/2019/02/02_04-perspectives-podcast-heidi-gardner