Don’t Do It Yourself

Lots of firms want to have one of their lawyers — often a trial lawyer or rainmaker who’s “really good with people” — to facilitate their retreat.  Johnnie Moore and Viv McWaters, in a new eBook (.pdf)  on Creative Facilitation, explain why that’s not such a great idea:

Is it best to use an internal or external facilitator?

It can be hard work being an internal facilitator, especially in a specialized industry. If you are known to be a subject matter expert’ it’s hard for people to think of you as a facilitator. There may be more pressure on you to know the answers. You might also have a stake, or vested interest, in the outcome of a workshop and might subtly, even subconsciously, influence the thinking and decision-making to align with your views. 

Most lawyers have heard the old saying, “He who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.”   I’d argue that the same is true for partners facilitating their own retreats.