You are here

Case Study: An Old Boy’s Club

2 October, 2015 - 15:12

Pattie works as a corporate lawyer at Hannigan, Fisher, and Schultz, a firm known for its work in intellectual property and securities law. Prior to her job, she served as a corporate attorney for a large Fortune 500 company located in San Jose, California. She is the mother of two young boys, 7 and 4 years old. Her husband works a full-time job as a financial manager for a prestigious financial services company. Even though Pattie and her husband lead busy professional lives, they always make sure that their two children come first. Jack, the younger of the two, was diagnosed with severe epilepsy 2 years ago, and the family wants to ensure that Jack receives the best care and attention.

In the past 7 years that Pattie has been with the firm, she has done everything she can to be promoted to partner. She has developed a large network of professional relationships. She has worked hard to demonstrate her leadership and management potential to her supervisors, and has led multi-million-dollar team projects. She has brought in new business and meets all her billable hours. She does all this while attending to her family’s special needs.

This year, only two associates were promoted to partner; both were men, both with the firm for less than 5 years. When she learned of this, she spoke with Robert, a senior partner and close colleague of hers: “Robert, what’s going on here? I’ve been here for six years, done everything according to the book, and yet I get passed up? I thought you said you were going to go to bat for me this year?”

“I did.” Robert hesitates and says, “You know, it’s hard to convince a bunch of old guys that you’re committed to your job.”

“Commitment? What are you talking about? You, of all people, know how hard I work,” Pattie replies. “Wait a minute. Is this about me working from home to take care of Jack this year?”

“Listen, it’s a tough world out here. They just want to know you’re going to be there for them; you know, keep bringing in the money. That’s how it is around here. It’s a ‘do as we say or there’s the door’ attitude around here. I’m sorry Pattie, but I’ll do what I can to support you—just hang in there.”

Using your knowledge about cultural intelligence principles, analyze what you believe is happening in this firm, and then identify three suggestions you have for the leadership of this organization.