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Leadership: Combination Of Mentoring And Flexible Scheduling Helps Firm Retain Talent
by Diane Prucino, Co-managing partner, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
April 1, 2008
I
am the co-managing partner of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, a law firm that employs 1,200
people. It's a big responsibility, and every day brings new challenges. How did I get here? The
usual way: a lot of hard work.
But there were two things
in particular that helped me. The first was a strong mentor. He was the head of the labor and
employment law practice group that I joined as a new lawyer in the early '80s. He decided early
that I was worth investing in, and invest he did, in the form of training, good assignments and
wise advice. He had confidence in me and cared about my development. It made a difference.
Years later, when I was a partner, I asked him why had gone out of his way to help me
succeed. He pushed his glasses down on his nose, looked at me over them, and replied, "because I
have three daughters." He went on to say that having daughters had changed his outlook and caused
him to realize some of the very subtle ways in which the deck was sometimes stacked against women.
He said that he wanted a level playing field for his daughters in the workplace, so he started with
the one workplace that was within his control.
The second thing that kept me in the workplace was this firm's openness to lawyers working
reduced-hours schedules. When I had my first baby in 1995, I was 37 years old. I had waited a long
time to become a mom, and I wanted to savor it. I proposed a reduced-hours arrangement, working 80
percent of full time. Although such arrangements were relatively rare then, they were
well-established at Kilpatrick Stockton, and the firm readily agreed.
I worked part time for 10 years. No one anticipated that, but after one child came the
other, and I wanted to give her the same good start I gave her sister ... and somehow it was
10 years later before I came up for air. Then, when I was ready, and enabled by a highly supportive
husband, I returned to work full time.
What are the lessons here? In my view, the first is that nothing contributes to success like
a strong mentor. There is no substitute for someone who cares about your development and wants you
to succeed. For many of us, it's time to pass that favor on to someone in the next generation,
regardless of her or his race or gender. After all, they're all the sons and daughters of parents
who want a level playing field for their kids.
The second takeaway is that businesses that are willing to accommodate workers who want
scheduling flexibility, whether in the form of part-time, flex-time, telecommuting, or other
nontraditional arrangements, may be amply repaid in the form of greater loyalty, retention of key
employees and better recruiting success. In addition to my own example, our firm's willingness to
accommodate women and men seeking reduced-hours schedules has enabled us to hire and retain top
talent in a variety of areas.
Work-family balance can be hard to achieve. I work at it every day. Some days I succeed, and
some I don't. (My kids and husband are quick to let me know when I don't.) But in searching for
that balance, all of us need to make some time to reach out a hand to someone below us on the
corporate ladder. It can be one more thing to squeeze into an already-busy day, but its effect on
the person you are mentoring will likely be exponentially greater than the time it takes you to
provide it.
