Navigating the partnership paradox

SMART WORKING

Navigating the partnership paradox

Paula McMullan

The path to partnership (P2P) is often cloaked in secrecy, leaving some lawyers feeling powerless to take control over their promotion prospects. So how can you persuade partners you’re ready for promotion, or that you have the potential to become a brilliant partner?

Whatever stage you’re at in your career, here are the three vital elements to planning your P2P.

I find that the greatest gap in understanding is how partners are the owners of a business

1. Work out your timetable to promotion

I’m a big fan of the Stephen Covey approach of starting with the end in mind. Work backwards from the date partners are promoted, through the various stages of assessment, development and nomination.

At 8 PQE, if partners at your firm are generally only promoted post 10 PQE, you have a 2-year runway. If you’re 6 PQE, you may have 3 or 4 years in which to position yourself for promotion.

Planning backwards help you to work out when your sponsors need to start speaking up on your behalf to ensure that you are nominated for the P2P process. Do you need to get a place on a development programme? If so, how often are these run, and who has the ultimate say over who attends?

Who prepares the business case for your promotion? Often this will be you, even if officially it’s the responsibility of your team partners. What information needs to go into your proposal? How long (or short) does it need to be? Is there a template? When does it need to be submitted?

Top tip #1: Speak to partners who have just been made up. They won’t have forgotten yet the hoops they had to jump through.

Top tip #2: Work backwards from your target promotion date and put milestone dates into your P2P strategy timeline. Diarise career conversations with your partners.

Top tip #3: Signal your desire to go for promotion. Your partners aren’t mindreaders – tell them you’d like to be considered for partnership and ask them when you can realistically expect to be put forward assuming there’s a business case.

2. Demonstrate that your skills, knowledge, experience, and attitude match those expected of partners at your firm

Whether you feel ready for partnership or not, are you clear on how to meet the expectations of a partner generally and at your firm specifically? It’s vital to get feedback on how you’re performing so that you know whether there are any gaps. However, to get meaningful feedback, you need to know what you’re being measured against. This can be tricky because firms often keep partner competencies and expectations close to their chest.

I find that the greatest gap in understanding is how partners are the owners of a business. They always have at least one eye on finance, productivity, delivering value and managing risk. Several of the partners I have coached have been surprised by just how much management information they have to get their head around from Day 1 of their promotion. Developing your awareness and skill of how law firms and business more generally operate is essential.

Top tip #4: Gather evidence of how you’re performing against the firm’s competency framework for senior lawyers (taking on responsibility, using initiative). Note down your wins, keep a file of client and other feedback, log your professional development. To paraphrase management guru Peter Drucker, you can’t showcase what you can’t measure.

Top tip #5: Get partners to open up about their transition to partnership. Ask questions such as, “What surprised you about becoming a partner?”, “What changes did you have to make to the way you work?”, and “How did the firm’s expectations of you change when you were made up?”

Top tip #6: Ask for targeted feedback. Frame your request so partners know exactly what feedback you’re looking for. E.g. “What specifically should I focus on to bring my CRM skills up to partner level?” Identify the skill you want them to comment on and make sure their feedback identifies the behaviours you can do more of.

Top tip #7: Develop your internal network to expand your reach among partners who don’t yet know you. The more people you can get speaking up on your behalf, the better.

3. Developing the mindset and resilience to carry you through

There’s little doubt that the path to partnership is demanding and you may be on it for several years. How will you keep motivated? How will you nurture your self-belief?

The key is to cultivate an abundance mindset, one which looks for opportunities and sees potential, and is comfortable with (or at least can cope with) change and uncertainty. If you focus on your limitations and mistakes, find it difficult to trust and experience negative thought patterns, your scarcity mindset will prevent you seeking out and seizing opportunities. It will also affect your resilience, making it harder for you to bounce back from stressful events.

Top tip #8: Focus on what you can control. If you’re not made up, it may well have nothing to do with you. The economic situation, the firm’s financial performance and your department’s relative standing within the firm are all factors which play into whether a lawyer is made up. Put your energy into actions you can take to develop your brand, network and potential.

Top tip #9: Develop different career options – pre-empt different scenarios. You’re not nominated or you don’t get made up, be ready with your business case for another firm and/or have a strategy for moving in-house.

Top tip #10: Surround yourself with people you look up to. Entrepreneur Jim Rohm says, “We are the average of the 5 people we spend most time around.” Who in your entourage lifts you up and inspires you? Who holds you back and keeps you small? And who is just motoring and not challenging themselves? Find situations and people who challenge you, and be curious.

Remember, it’s your career. If, despite your efforts, your potential is not recognised and your progress is not supported, it’s probably time to evaluate your options. But don’t expect partners to know you’re ready for partnership, or to appreciate your ambition automatically. It’s never too early to take steps to position yourself for promotion. ■

Paula McMullan

Career Coach for Lawyers, helping lawyers at a crossroads to secure their next promotion, land their next opportunity and make an impact in their new role.

www.PaulaMcmullan.com