How to Make Partner: What Managers Don't Know Can Hurt Them

Source: The Marc Rosenberg Blog

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Marc Rosenberg. In it, he responds to a question from a 32-year-old manager who has no idea how to become a partner at his eight-partner firm. 

Partners, trust me, such uncertainty is the norm, not the exception. 

No clue what it takes to become a partner. Firms reason that if they publish the requirements, unqualified managers will wave these written guidelines in partners' faces and begin applying pressure to be made partner. 

Most firms address this issue by publishing written guidelines for making partner that clearly state that the partners' subjective, intuitive judgment will be an important criterion.

Firms that want to develop young people into leadership positions need to be counseling staff—especially the stars—early and often about what it takes to become partners.

Partners don't share any information on new partner buy-in. If staff are on a partner track, they want to study details well in advance of becoming partner – how the buy-in works, how the buyout plan works, how their compensation will be determined, etc. 

It seems that the new partner has very little say in decisions. If there is no ownership percentage, how are decisions made? Very few firms of any size decide matters by voting. Most of my clients tell me they never take votes. They discuss the issue at hand. They look for consensus. And they make decisions. 

So, how does a new partner impact decisions? By persuasively stating a case and getting other partners to follow. Just like any other partner. 

For the complete entry, read “What it Takes to Become Partner: Staff Kept in the Dark.”

From The Marc Rosenberg Blog, March 23, 2015, blog.rosenbergassoc.com.