He started his search firm in 1996 on a wobbly card table in the dining room of a one-bedroom apartment. "I can't believe how much placement activity I've seen since then," says Scott Love, one of the executive search industry's leading gurus. "If there's anything I've learned about the recruiting business, it's that there's always a need for top talent. If there's anything that I've learned about observing organizations who hire talent, it's that most of them become successful in spite of themselves, not because of themselves."
Love divides his time between recruiting the leaders of organizations and consulting to those leaders to create organizations which encourage innovation and peak performance. As a former organizational development consultant who is also an author, syndicated leadership columnist, and professional keynote speaker on leadership, Love says that it's leadership, not compensation that attracts top performers.
"When I conduct a search for an attorney for one of my law firm clients, I always hear the same blah-blah-blah story about the number of years that it takes to make partner and how important compensation is. Sure, money is important. But it's not what gets peak performance out of a lawyer. The firms forget that they're recruiting human beings who want to have meaning and purpose in life." Love tends to be critical of how most law firms are managed. "I can't blame them because they are right smack in the middle of a culture that resists change. But if a group of partners is brave enough to huddle together and clarify the values, crystallize the vision, and define the mission of their law firm, they'll be head and shoulders above the rest of their competitors in terms of recruiting elite talent."
Love states that authentic leadership isn't just about attracting top talent. It's a sure-fire way to stimulate performance. Love says, "If they want to get maximum performance out of their staff, they have to find out what incites that kind of performance. It isn't money. It's meaning. Maslow said it best when he called it 'self-actualization.'"
Love's legal division of his search practice is also his most aggressive endeavor. The Attorney Search Group follows the retained search model to find partner, associate, and in-house counsel. An ancillary need that Love targets is to help dysfunctional law firms get healthy through his consulting.
Love says that most law firms never do any 'work' on how to build an effective organization. As a result, they grow into what he calls a 'warped bonsai'. "The branches choke each other and never are aligned for harmony and balance. If a firm takes the time to really shape the culture and beliefs of their firm, then they'll find themselves creating a symbiotic and synergistic network of internal relationships. And that, more than compensation, is what people really want."
Love's legal search firm's website is http://www.attorneysearchgroup.com. To access the archive of his nationally syndicated leadership column, visit http://www.scottlove.com .
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