(To be clear, I don’t know if this associate is on the spectrum, but they struggle a ton with social cues, and I think coaching that works on ASD associates could help them.)
Working with an associate whose main issue seems to be an inability to pick up on social cues, especially those concerning basic law firm politics (i.e. there is a hierarchy, and the hierarchy means things you can do or say with a more junior person you can’t do or say with a more senior person). There is a secondary attitude and complaining issue, but I think that is tied to the social cues issue.
This associate is smart and actually produces good work product but is pure torture to work with. They point out, for example, partners’ typos on internal communications, boldly disagree with strategic decisions they have no business opining on, and similar. They’ll ask for work but then object to the assignment as not a strategically good use of time. They are REALLY struggling with the concept that we have to advocate for the client’s position, even if it’s a weak position.
I’d like to help this associate improve because I know they value this job and they’re actually decent at research and writing. But I’m struggling with how to give feedback because the feedback is frankly awkward and requires acknowledging a weird hierarchical structure that we’re all supposed to abide by but pretend it doesn’t exist. I’d prefer to ignore the problem, but at the same, this person is torture to work with.
Any practical tips here?