The Role of the Managing Partner

How does your firm define the role of managing partner, and what should your managing partner be doing?

Evolution of the MP Role
The role of MP is truly a function of the size of your firm.  Firms typically grow through four levels and four related types of managing partner roles.

1. Firms in the two to four partner range most often have an administrative partner, or the partners split the administrative duties among themselves.
2. Firms with four to eight partners need an MP as well as a firm administrator. In these firms a lot of the decisions still tend to be made in monthly partner meetings.
3. When a firm reaches eight to twelve partners, the managing partner typically works with an executive committee (EC) to run the firm. The MP has greater firm leadership responsibilities and fewer client hours. In firms this size, the full partner group begins meeting less frequently.
4. Firms with 12 or more partners have an MP that has even fewer client hours and is even more focused on the firm. At this level, the managing partner is very clearly in a position of leadership, and should be driving the firm’s vision, strategy, growth, and partner performance.

Influencers of the Role of MP
In addition to the firm’s size, the expectations placed on your firm’s MP will be influenced by factors such as whether the firm has an EC, how often the partners meet, how decisions are made, which types of issues are brought to a vote, and more. Possibly the most significant influencing factor is whether the partner group is open to being led.

The Ideal Managing Partner
There are no perfect managing partners, but there are some noteworthy characteristics and abilities that help MPs have success.

Visionary – An MP who is a visionary will be able to communicate a vision and lead the team through the strategic planning process.

Leader – Keep in mind that your current or future MP does not have to be especially charismatic, but he or she must want to lead and be willing to do so.

Effective Communicator – A successful MP must prioritize regular, clear communication.

Decisive – Working within the firm’s governance structure, MPs must be able to make a final decision and move forward.

Inclusive – An MP should know who to include in a project or decision and when, and avoid the temptation to tackle too much alone.

Able to Hold Others Accountable – An MP must be willing to establish and maintain a culture of accountability among the partners and staff. Being self-accountable means that each person will do what they have agreed to do, to the best of their ability, on time, and without reminders.

Growth-focused – An effective MP will expect and pursue growth for the firm.

Culture Steward – MPs will understand the firm culture and represent it well, in addition to being willing to address partners and staff when they stray from firm culture expectations.

Cares About People – MPs who keep in mind that they are working with people, for people, will be able to make the firm a “best place to work.”

Together, these attributes create the ideal managing partner. It is rare to find an MP who excels in all these qualities, but identifying which skills contribute to an MP’s success will benefit the entire firm.

What an MP is NOT

Dictator – The managing partner is not the boss, except for MPs in very large firms. However, the MP in every firm should be a leader, and wise leaders demonstrate servant leadership rather than dictating.

Sole Decision Maker – MPs do not make key decisions alone; they coordinate with ECs and other firm leadership.

Dumping Ground for All Firm Problems – MPs are not solely responsible for solving every ongoing firm struggle, frustrating circumstance, or neglected issue. The partner team still works together to tackle these challenges.

Always The Firm’s Best Rainmaker – The personality well-suited to the role of MP may also be especially talented as a rainmaker, and it is likely that the MP will be one of the better rainmakers in the firm. However, being the top rainmaker is not a requirement.

A Full-Time Job – Unless the firm is very large, the managing partner position is not a full-time role.

Focused Only on the Numbers – MPs who focus only on their spreadsheets won’t last long in the position. Public accounting is a people business.

The Firm Administrator – Some very small firms may combine the managing partner and administrative responsibilities, but most often these two roles should be separate.

The Two Most Important Managing Partner Duties
A managing partner has two primary responsibilities in the firm that should outweigh everything else:

1. Develop, Communicate, and Implement Strategy – An MP does not work alone to create or implement the firm’s vision and strategy, but it is that person’s responsibility to spearhead and champion the process.
2. Maximize the Partner Group’s Effectiveness and Success – Managing partners are responsible for helping partners utilize their strengths, so that each person works from a position of optimal potential. An effective MP will encourage incremental improvements and goal setting, which leads to improved performance from the whole firm. As the MP drives the firm toward growth and reaching goals, he or she should guide each partner to own a portion of the firm’s growth strategy and hold them accountable to that ownership. As firms increase in size, managing partners should also have increased influence over individual partners’ compensation, which can and should be linked to helping motivate partners toward improvement and moving the firm forward.

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Gary Adamson is the CEO of Adamson Advisory, a CPA practice management consulting firm specializing in succession strategies, strategic planning, M&A, compensation, and partner agreements.