Do you REALLY have a supportive culture?
It is something most firms claim to have but is is reality within your firm or is it just rhetoric?
It is easy to be supportive when things are going well.
But how are things handled when its not going well for someone or if someone makes a mistake in their role?
That is when it really counts surely?
I have been speaking to a couple of people recently about the importance of having a culture in law firms where people feel safe to admit mistakes.
I think this is vital in any business but particularly in legal when the stakes can be so high.
In these instances working in an environment where you feel you can own up to these mistakes knowing you will be supported by colleagues and partners/managers to find the best route to take to rectify things is essential.
However serious the error is, it is always better to try and acknowledge things and face up to it as early as possible.
I often read the law gazette, legal cheek or legal futures and see instances of people digging a deeper and deeper hole for themselves until it is too serious to turn back - leading to hefty fines and sanctions.
If you do not feel that you have a culture where everyone is comfortable to admit when they have dropped the ball and there are people who would not feel safe to own up to errors to managers, then in my opinion, you have the wrong people in supervisory positions.
I read an article on the law society website written by a risk and compliance expert about owning up to mistakes that gives some good tips on how to handle and approach things when mistakes are made - Link below for anyone interested
Owning up to mistakes: what's the right thing to do? | The Law Society