Your firm can be busy, profitable, and still stuck and the reason is usually leadership design, not legal skill. We sit down with Kyle Harbaugh, founder of Chief GO Officers LLC, to unpack what actually slows down decision making as a law firm grows, why owners hit “decision fatigue,” and how shared leadership creates operational leverage without losing quality or culture.

We dig into what Kyle looks for when he assesses a practice across the core drivers of growth, from profitability and risk management to recruiting, retention, operations, sales process, and technology. You’ll hear a clear way to separate true scaling opportunities from “more work,” including a practical 80/20 mindset for finding the clients and matters that produce the best outcomes with the least drag. We also talk about meetings and communication systems that keep teams aligned as headcount rises and complexity multiplies.

AI for law firms shows up here in a grounded way: not chasing tools for novelty, but using AI-powered decision making to hire faster and smarter and to get visibility into what’s really happening inside the business. We also cover what tends to break after a merger or acquisition, how to stabilize post-deal integration, and why exit planning should start years earlier than most attorneys think.

Reach Kyle here:
https://www.chiefgoofficers.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@Chief_GO_Officers
https://www.linkedin.com/company/chief-go-officers-llc/posts/?feedView=all&viewAsMember=true

Season 4 Episode 183

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Your team can hit targets and still be quietly falling apart. That’s why this conversation with Hanna Bauer, founder and CEO of HEARTnomics™, lands so hard for law firm leaders who feel the strain of burnout, misalignment, and constant change. We talk about a leadership approach that treats trust, alignment, and resilience as real drivers of results, not feel-good extras, and Hannah shares how her own story of surviving childhood heart disease shaped her view of what sustainable excellence actually requires.

We unpack the tension many managing partners and practice leaders feel: bringing empathy into the workplace without lowering the bar. Hanna makes a clear case that love does not mean soft standards. It means building the rapport and safety that help people commit, communicate, and perform. We dig into why process improvement and change management fail when leaders skip the human layer, even when the data is right and the plan is logical. If you’re navigating remote teams, AI disruption, and economic uncertainty, this is a practical roadmap for keeping performance high without grinding people down.

We also get specific about rebuilding trust after it’s been damaged. Hanna shares what leaders should measure, the common moments where trust quietly breaks, and why “we need a better culture” is not a repair strategy. Then we go deep on alignment, the leadership skill she believes we’ve historically overlooked, including how to protect nonnegotiables, build margin into your operating rhythm, and stay internally aligned so service to your team doesn’t become self-sacrifice.

Reach Hanna here:
https://www.HEARTnomics.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bauerhanna/
https://www.instagram.com/hannabauer777/
https://facebook.com/hannad.bauer
https://www.youtube.com/@heartnomics
https://www.linkedin.com/company/heartnomics/

Season 4 Episode 182

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

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#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins

Persuasion gets talked about like it’s pure logic, but most of us know the truth from experience: the harder you push, the harder people push back. Marilyn Jenkins sits down with psychologist and behavioral scientist Dr. JonRobert, founder of Influence 51, to unpack what actually changes minds and why smart communicators focus on psychology before they focus on proof. We dig into psychological reactance, the “anti-coercion” response that shows up everywhere from negotiations to jury deliberations, and why persuasion is often an access problem, not an argument problem.

We also get practical about courtroom communication and jury decision making. Dr. JonRobert explains why jurors tend to reward the side that builds the most coherent causal story, not just the side with the biggest stack of facts. We break down narrative transportation theory, self-generated persuasion, and a simple two-question technique that helps people talk themselves into the conclusion you want without feeling forced. If you care about trial strategy, witness exams, openings, or closings, you’ll hear how small shifts in message framing can create outsized shifts in verdicts.

Then we look at the future: AI and behavioral science. AI can generate persuasive content quickly, but John argues humans still have the edge in social dynamics like reading the room, adjusting mid-argument, and using humility instead of fake certainty. We wrap with a powerful reminder for lawyers, leaders, and legal marketers: less arguing, more curiosity, plus the right balance of competence and warmth to earn real trust.

Reach Dr. JonRobert here:
https://www.influence51.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonrobert-tartaglione-ph-d-21b26770/

Season 4 Episode 181

Ready to level up your law firm marketing? Book a FREE Discovery Call with Marilyn Here: https://lawmarketingzone.com/bookacall

Leadership In Law Podcast with host, Marilyn Jenkins
Powered by Law Marketing Zone®
https://lawmarketingzone.com
A full-service Digital Marketing Agency helping clients increase Leads, Cases, and Profit by getting their digital marketing right.

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast listening platform!

Like, Share, and Review us!

#leadershipinlawpodcast #leadershipinlaw #lawmarketingzone #marilynjenkins