The Game Changing Attorney Podcast with Michael Mogill 432. AMMA — When Loyalty Backfires: The Hidden Cost of Tenure
Longevity doesn't equal excellence, but somewhere along the way, we started treating it like it does.
In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill tackle one of the most uncomfortable truths in leadership: tenure is not a metric for promotion. From attorneys demanding partnership based on years served to team members resenting promotions they believe they "deserved," this conversation exposes the friction that happens when loyalty is mistaken for performance. Michael also shares how he's training his daughter to see skills as learnable, not innate, and why the same growth mindset applies to building teams that reward excellence over seniority.
Here's what you'll learn:
- Why rewarding tenure over performance quietly destroys your standards and demoralizes top performers
- How to define partnership expectations before resentment builds and misalignment festers
- What to do when you've been delaying a termination decision, and why waiting only makes it worse
Time served is not the same as value delivered. This episode is your reminder to lead with clarity, not comfort.
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01:57 – Michael introduces his new daily training sessions with his seven-year-old daughter and explains why focus is a trainable skill that nobody teaches.
06:47 – How the triathlon training principle applies to business: success has less to do with natural ability and more to do with time dedicated to practice.
09:26 – An attorney with six years of tenure demands partnership and equity, claiming the firm owner is "moving the goalposts."
14:26 – Why tenure doesn't trump performance, and how to explain promotions based on meritocracy without apology.
18:07 – Michael explains why delaying a termination decision only makes it more painful, and why it will never be easier than today.
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Links & Resources:
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Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com.
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Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O’Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more.
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