You have likely heard the expression, “Walk a mile in my shoes.” This phrase carries significant meaning — it encourages us to consider and understand another person’s perspectives, experiences, and motivations before making judgments. But does this concept have a place in the law firm environment? Absolutely!
Understanding your employees and co-workers on a deeper level allows you to utilize their strengths more effectively while fostering a culture of empathy and collaboration. The same principle applies to firm-wide initiatives and policies. When curiosity replaces judgment, you unlock the path to deeper understanding. This shift marks the beginning of truly “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.”
Several years ago, while working in Big Law, I stumbled upon this concept by accident. One Friday afternoon, our Controller called to inform me that the region I managed had more rush check requests on Fridays than any other region. I explained that our practice groups often worked on large M&A deals and real estate transactions, frequently leading to last-minute financial determinations. My explanation helped her better understand why we often submitted requests at the last minute.
Curious, I asked why these rush requests posed such a challenge. After all, we were a billion-dollar firm. She explained that her team met with the treasury team every Friday at noon to determine the cash needs for the week’s close. Any last-minute rush requests in the afternoon disrupted their cash allocation process.
I was surprised. I had never considered the broader impact of our late requests. She went on to describe the volume of check requests her team processed daily, the number of rush requests they received, and the overall workload their department handled. I was genuinely impressed. That conversation gave me a newfound appreciation for the finance team’s challenges and sparked an idea: the “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” program.
The “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” program was an initiative designed to foster empathy and mutual understanding across departments within the organization. Its core objective is to provide employees with firsthand experience of the responsibilities, pressures, and workflows that other teams manage daily. Through education and information, team members gained a deeper understanding of the tasks, responsibilities, and challenges their colleagues in different roles and departments faced. This immersive approach built awareness of interdepartmental challenges, strengthened collaboration, and enhanced workplace relationships. By walking in each other’s shoes, team members are better equipped to work together toward shared goals, reducing friction and promoting a more cohesive work environment.
Over the next few months, I met with various departments to learn more about their responsibilities and the impact of inefficiencies or miscommunications between teams. Many employees had no idea how their actions — or inactions — affected other departments.
The first “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” session focused on accounting and finance. I invited all team members to attend and had members of the accounting team present an overview of their roles, workloads, and the consequences of other departments not following policies. The session was eye-opening for everyone.
Throughout the year, I organized similar presentations from marketing and business development, HR, billing, practice assistants, paralegals, and IT. I noticed a genuine interest in learning about other roles, and employees gained a clearer understanding of how one department’s actions could create a ripple effect across the firm. This initiative fostered a sense of accountability and teamwork, ultimately improving efficiency and office culture.
To deepen the impact, consider integrating interactive elements such as job shadowing or cross-training initiatives into your law firm. These programs encourage team members to step out of their regular roles and spend a few hours or even a full day working alongside another department. By doing so, they gain firsthand experience of how other teams operate, the specific tools and processes they use, and the unique challenges they face on a daily basis. This immersive approach not only fosters a more profound appreciation of each team’s responsibilities, but also enhances collaboration, breaks down silos, and builds stronger interdepartmental relationships. Over time, these shared experiences can lead to a more cohesive and supportive workplace culture.
To successfully implement a job shadowing or cross-training initiative within a law firm, leaders should start by clearly identifying the specific goals of the program, such as improving collaboration between practice groups or enhancing junior attorneys’ understanding of firm operations. Once the objectives are defined, create a structured plan that includes selecting appropriate departments to participate, outlining the roles to be shadowed, and setting measurable outcomes. It is also essential to communicate the value of the initiative to all team members, ensuring they understand how it benefits both individual professional growth and overall firm performance. Designating mentors or senior staff to guide participants during the process can provide valuable insights and help ensure meaningful engagement.
Creating a feedback loop is crucial for fostering continuous improvement, collaboration, and better alignment across your organization. By encouraging employees to share their takeaways from each session and shadowing experience openly, you create an environment where learning is valued, and insights are acknowledged. Ask team members to reflect on what they’ve learned, how it applies to their roles, and what changes they can implement moving forward to drive better results. This reflection not only strengthens individual growth, but also promotes collective learning across departments.
Firms can also conduct periodic surveys or hold debrief sessions to assess whether employees feel more connected to their colleagues and better equipped to navigate cross-departmental interactions. These insights will help refine the program and sustain its long-term impact.
Law firm leadership should also initiate discussions on practical ways to enhance interdepartmental efficiency. This ensures that all teams are aligned in their goals and can work together more effectively. For example, teams might identify bottlenecks in processes, suggest new tools for collaboration, or propose strategies to improve communication across departments.
Providing a dedicated platform for these conversations is essential. This could include an internal forum, shared communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams, or regularly scheduled quarterly meetings. These structured spaces allow employees to share, discuss, and document their ideas, creating a centralized hub for feedback and collaboration.
By maintaining and encouraging this feedback loop, program progress is tracked over time, and valuable insights are preserved and translated into actionable outcomes. This process benefits the entire organization by driving innovation, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and ensuring that every employee feels their contributions are recognized and impactful.
Another key element that will directly contribute to the success of your "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" program is leadership involvement. When managers, C-Suite leaders, and partners actively participate in the program, it reinforces the importance of collaboration and sets a precedent for open communication across all levels of the firm. Their engagement clearly demonstrates a commitment to the program's goals and motivates team members to follow suit, fostering a culture of trust and teamwork. By leading through example, leadership helps ensure the program's success and encourages everyone to contribute to a more connected and efficient workplace.
Launching a “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” program doesn’t require a massive investment — just a commitment to fostering collaboration and understanding across teams. The idea is simple: give employees the chance to better understand the roles and responsibilities of their colleagues, which can lead to stronger, more cohesive teams and a more efficient work environment. Start by identifying team members eager to share insights about their roles and open to answering questions from others. Clearly communicate to the entire firm that the goal of this initiative is to break down silos, improve communication, and enhance overall operations.
A great place to begin this program is with your intake team. Intake plays a fundamental role in the client journey, as it’s where everything (aside from marketing) begins. Pairing intake with marketing presentations can provide a comprehensive view of how clients first interact with the firm. For example, marketing might explain how potential clients are reached and engaged, while intake can walk through how those clients are onboarded into the system. This allows both departments to see the full picture of how the firm attracts and retains clients.
That said, there is no strict order for how to roll out the program. You could also consider walking through the lifecycle of a case step by step, having each department present in the sequence of their involvement. This approach helps employees see how their work fits into the bigger picture and can uncover pain points or inefficiencies in workflows. Ultimately, the purpose of this program is to foster empathy, build stronger connections between departments, and create a more streamlined process for everyone.
Every department has valuable insights to share. In addition to intake and marketing, consider presentations from:
Each team plays a crucial role in the firm’s success, and understanding their functions enhances efficiency and strengthens workplace relationships.
To enrich these sessions, consider inviting guest speakers, such as industry consultants, senior professionals, or thought leaders with extensive experience in the field. These experts can provide additional context, share real-world examples, and offer best practices tailored to your specific challenges. Their external perspective can bring fresh insights and inspire innovative solutions to interdepartmental challenges, fostering collaboration and encouraging creative problem-solving among your team members. Having guest speakers as part of your new program can spark meaningful discussions and motivate employees to think beyond their usual scope, driving growth and continuous improvement.
To ensure the program’s effectiveness, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track improvements in workflow efficiency, communication, and overall employee engagement. Some specific KPIs you could focus on as you begin to develop and implement your own program may look like:
These metrics provide valuable insights into the program's outcomes, helping organizations fine-tune and maximize its benefits.
Law firms can cultivate a more collaborative, efficient, and understanding workplace by taking the time to “walk a mile” in each other’s shoes. This involves encouraging employees to gain a deeper understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and challenges faced by their colleagues across different departments. Whether it’s an associate learning about the billing process from the finance team or a litigation paralegal understanding the pressures of rapid-fire intake calls, this commitment to cross-departmental awareness fosters empathy and respect throughout the organization.
The benefits are clear — better operations, a stronger office culture, and greater success for both employees and clients. Employees who feel understood and valued are more likely to collaborate effectively, leading to improved workflows and more innovative solutions for clients.
As firms continue to evolve in an ever-changing legal landscape, embracing initiatives that promote teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and mutual support will be instrumental in building a thriving and resilient work environment. Programs like the “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” initiative go beyond just exercises — they represent a mindset shift that encourages continuous learning, stronger relationships, and a more unified approach to achieving success. In the end, it’s about creating a workplace where everyone feels empowered to contribute their best while understanding the bigger picture of how their roles align with the firm's goals.
