Is the brat summer relevant to professional services?

The brat summer trend is inspired by British singer Charli XCX’s hit album “brat”. As US presidential candidate Kamala Harris aligns herself with this pop culture phenomenon, I wonder how many leaders in professional services firms would feel comfortable with a similar alignment. How many of those leaders are (in the words of Charli XCX) ” just like that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes…. Just like a pack of cigs and a Bic lighter. And like, a strappy white top with no bra.” ? So not the average professional services firm leader then. ” … is very honest, very blunt. A little bit volatile. ” Now that sounds more familiar! Will we see a new trend for firms with lime green branding? Probably not. (Personally, I’m a fan of the arial font embraced on the album, though I suspect that (a bit like flares) it doesn’t count as cool (or brat) if you still like it from the first time around.)

Does the brat trend have any relevance for leaders of professional services businesses? I think so. In these people businesses, the majority are young and, certainly in law firms, more than half will be young women. Of course, they won’t universally identify with the brat trend, but it will have some impact on the zeitgeist. Behavioural science has shown us repeatedly that our identity has a significant impact on our behaviour. If I’m brat, am I the sort of person who consistently complies with office attendance policies and time recording policies? Do I prioritise the chargeable hour and the pursuit of profit above all else? Maybe not. This is the real challenge for leaders. Setting targets, objectives and policies is easy. Motivating people to willingly embrace them and change their behaviour to deliver on them – that’s much more challenging.

Despite the eye watering salaries currently being proposed for newly qualified lawyers, I’ve seen little evidence that salary hikes are making a sustainable difference to how engaged people feel or how they behave day to day. If alignment can’t be “bought” (other than perhaps in the very short term), maybe the route to sustained engagement lies in leaders embracing the brat “messiness”. A more individualistic approach to engaging colleagues undoubtedly takes more time and effort, but might it ultimately be worth the cultural and economic benefits? Those professional services businesses who previously embraced the “purpose led” business trend with evangelical zeal but without achieving any discernible sustained economic advantage over their competitors may (understandably) be reluctant test this hypothesis. Yet I’d encourage leaders at all levels in professional services businesses to reflect on what the brat summer means to their team and what the consequences may be.