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Reno & Cavanaugh recognized by Winning Workplaces and FORTUNE for having one of America’s Best Bosses

CHICAGO – Housing advocate Megan Glasheen, managing partner at Reno & Cavanaugh, was named one of America’s best bosses by Winning Workplaces and FORTUNE Small Business for her innovative management of the Reno & Cavanaugh law firm of Washington, D.C.

The Winning Workplaces Best Bosses recognition program honors innovative small business leaders who have “created tightly knit workplaces and inspired intensely loyal workers.” The judges found that Glasheen and her coworkers at Reno & Cavanaugh created such a workplace by helping each other balance their personal lives with their careers, and by including the entire staff in operational decisions.

It all started six years ago with the birth of Glasheen’s daughter, Simone. Glasheen, whose efforts on Capitol Hill helped shape today’s affordable housing programs, experienced firsthand the common struggle of balancing work and family.

Seeking a better way for her family and her colleagues, she led the firm through an evolution. They created a system to assign reasonable workloads, to keep individuals producing at optimal levels. They formed committees of staff from all levels of the company – not just managers – to make decisions on office operations. This created an egalitarian environment.

“There is no hierarchy here,” paralegal Barbara Walder said. “If you walked into our office off the street, you wouldn't be able to tell the partners from the assistants.”

Glasheen said Reno & Cavanaugh instituted surveys, including an evaluation that tracks job satisfaction over a course of years. Others ask staff to rate the people they work for. “These upward feedback surveys help us praise employees who are helping others develop,” Glasheen said.

Glasheen said her ultimate goal as a boss is to provide the best service to clients. Supporting the careers and personal lives of staff boosts productivity and ensures superior service, she said. This matches the progressive philosophy of Winning Workplaces.

“The best bosses understand the connection between employee engagement and the bottom line,” says Mary Corbitt Clark, executive director of Winning Workplaces. “Employees who are valued contribute in response.”

Added Elaine Pofeldt, senior editor of FORTUNE Small Business, “The Best Bosses are listening carefully to their workers and giving them what they want: opportunities to educate themselves continually; the chance to work alongside the best people in their fields; benefits that ease the complex demands of their lives outside of work.”

Reno & Cavanaugh clients see the difference when comparing the performance of the firm to others.

“The workplace there seems to be one where individual professional and support personnel have a palpable sense of their importance to the team and of a commitment to delivering excellent service to clients,” said Vincent Tufo, director of development, the Housing Authority of Stamford, Conn., “This seems to be coupled with their empowerment, by management, to take on greater responsibility as their careers mature. These factors increase productivity, which I measure as a hyper-responsiveness to the needs of the client,” he said.

“The lawyers and professionals at Reno & Cavanaugh are constantly thinking about my needs, even when I may be unaware of them,” Tufo added. “Theirs is probably the best example of a professional service firm that I can think of.”

Maria Zissimos, general counsel for The Chester Housing Authority, Chester, Penn., called Glasheen a workhorse. “I’ve never found myself behind the eight ball because she was too busy,” she said. “It’s great to be able to get that kind of service, on that scale, from a small firm.”

Reno & Cavanaugh employees say they are proud of the Best Bosses Award, that they are in full agreement with the judges.

“Sometimes, when looking at the people ahead of you on the career track, you do not see the type of person you want to become, or the values that you aspire to hold,” said attorney Jaime Lee. “That is not the case for me here. I admire and respect Megan for many things, including her strength, smarts, warmth, sense of humor, passion for all that she does, optimism, and the importance she places on reaching out to people as people – not just as clients or colleagues.”

Staff attorney Martin Walsh described the work environment as “dynamic and engaging,” and credited Glasheen’s efficient decision making and participatory management.

“This serves to keep morale high and people engaged and excited about working for a place where each voice really matters,” Walsh said. “The people who work here are deeply committed to the core social dimension of our work, and this translates into a heightened level of commitment on the part of our R&C staff to providing excellent legal assistance to our clients to assist them in improving their communities.”