What’s one of the real ceilings on your firm’s growth?
Often, law firm promotion is one of them because the moment a firm owner wants to elevate someone and a team member wants to grow, the conversation can quietly break down before either side knows how to move forward.
In this episode of Great Practice, Great Life, Steve Riley sits down with Patti Paz, coach and facilitator of the Atticus Team Leader Certification Program, to unpack what they call the promotion trap. Patti brings both law firm experience and coaching experience to the conversation, having worked her way through multiple roles inside a law firm and now helping team leaders grow into stronger leaders inside their firms.
Steve and Patti walk through the three most common promotion traps that stall advancement. “I’m overwhelmed” can sound like a red light to an owner. “I’m not ready” is often fear dressed up as logic. And “pay me first, then I’ll learn it” can create friction, even when the real concern is whether more responsibility will come with enough support.
This episode is valuable because it helps both sides use better language. Owners learn how to stop doing drive-by promotions and start setting the right context with time on the calendar, clear expectations, and a real discussion about what needs to come off a team member’s plate for a promotion to succeed. Team members learn what promotable behavior looks like in real life: ownership, initiative, better questions, and a willingness to learn.
If you are a firm owner who feels stuck, this is a reminder that growth isn’t only a business development problem. It’s a people development problem. And if you are a team member who wants to move up, this conversation gives you language that opens doors instead of closing them.
When promotion works, the owner gains leverage, the team gains leadership, and the firm has more room to grow.
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Inside This Episode
- The promotion trap and why it limits firm growth
- Three promotion traps and what team members can say instead
- Why “I’m overwhelmed,” “I’m not ready,” and “pay me first” can stall a promotion conversation
- Why drive-by promotions usually backfire
- How to have a better promotion conversation from both the lawyer’s and team member’s perspective
- How the Atticus Team Leader Certification Program can help develop team leaders and test promotability
- Why firm growth depends on growing your people
