CBA Record July-August 2026

A Coaching Approach to Leadership: iŒƄĩƥàƄĩŒʼnȥ¤ĥŵŒƊĞĥȥ ŒňňƊʼnĩýàƄĩŒʼn By Jake Berger

S upervising others—encouraging them to do their best, and helping them succeed—is one of the most challeng ing but rewarding aspects of being a leader. Of course, people are generally not successful in the legal profession unless they are highly motivated to succeed. In my view, the best way to keep younger lawyers highly motivated to succeed is to commu nicate openly, transparently, and frequently. This mostly applies to seasoned attorneys as well. To use a football analogy, the legal profession has two types of leaders: players’ coaches and owners’ coaches. An owners’ coach focuses primarily on the business and financial interests of the firm and leads by edict. Conversely, a players’ coach focuses on mentoring the players, prioritizing their well-being, com municating openly with them, and leading by consensus and obtaining player buy-in. An owners’ coach focuses on the firm’s development and growth. A players’ coach, in contrast, focuses on the development and growth of individual people, recogniz ing that an organization cannot succeed or even continue to exist without its people. Over the past 12 years in the legal profession, I have found that being a players’ coach is the best way to inspire and moti vate young lawyers to succeed, adapt, and grow. In this context, being a players’ coach means frequently communicating with younger lawyers in a more open and transparent manner than is traditional so younger lawyers can understand the project or role, where it fits into the bigger picture, and why it is important. Being a players’ coach also involves having difficult, open, and direct conversations with younger lawyers about feedback, how to improve, and how to avoid (or rectify) mistakes. Sometimes,

those conversations involve explaining that although a particu lar project is not fun, not glamorous, or not even interesting, it is important to the case as a whole and to the younger lawyer’s development as an advocate and leader. Often, the players’ coach approach works well. It keeps younger lawyers motivated and gets them through difficult or busy periods of work because it reminds them that supervisors have their best interests in mind and are willing to slog through the trenches with them to achieve the best results for themselves, the client, and the firm. Keeping people motivated is difficult unless they believe that you are looking out for their best interests and that there is a point to the work they are doing. The players’ coach approach works well in getting younger lawyers to buy in to the bigger picture, do excellent work, and become great leaders themselves one day—all of which are essential to the growth and long-term success of our profession.

-DNH %HUJHU LV D SDUWQHU DW 7DEHW 'L9LWR 5RWKVWHLQ //& SULPDULO\ IRFXVLQJ RQ FRPSOH[ commercial litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country.

CBA RECORD 39