everything from gaining credibility to where to turn for help.
by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner
the toughest lessons for new managing partners have nothing to do with taxes, accounting, or even textbook management. it’s all about people – such as people issues and handling partners, according to our straw poll survey of a handful of top-flight firm leaders.
we gleaned comments from 10 relatively new managing partners. eight are from firms with revenues from $10 million to $30 million and two are from $5 million to $10 million firms.
more: partner compensation: a potent weapon | the managing partner’s secret weapon | how a good managing partner impacts profitability | how a great managing partner impacts firm growth | clarify partner expectations | exceptional managing partners offer their advice
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we posed three questions to the new managing partners:
- what advice would you give a new managing partner?
- what were your greatest challenges when you became a managing partner?
- if you had to do it over again, would you approach your ascension to the managing partner job differently? in what ways?
their responses tell us as much about how to do the job well as how to fail at it.
dealing with people issues
- “people issues are easily the most challenging aspect of being a new mp. i’m constantly dealing with the staff’s personal issues, skills, and quirks, how they see the world and how they fit in with our firm – or don’t fit in.”
- “many challenging personnel issues consumed a great deal of my initial time, which was made more difficult due to significant revenue growth and a challenging busy season. new mps need to be prepared for these issues by allowing time for discussions and keeping an open mind with firm personnel.”
- “communication, communication, communication! i can never do too much of this.”
- “one challenge, in particular, is dealing with differing career ambitions of the staff. some want to constantly improve and rise in the firm while others, who are quite competent, are content being long-term senior accountants or managers. given the dire shortage of staff in the cpa industry, there are places in our firm for productive people who are less ambitious; we just have to be clear with the staff about this. if people don’t have lofty career goals, i still have to remember that they are good people who work hard and have a family. the tough part comes when they are not meeting work standards and changes need to be made.”
- “a related issue has been dealing with underperforming managers. often the issues are poor work habits or resistance to change. this is common at our firm because we have merged in several smaller firms that had managers that are struggling to meet our standards. in some cases, they are responsive to our efforts to re-engineer them. others are not salvageable.”
balancing time between managing partner and client duties
- “transfer your clients as soon and as thoroughly as you can because if you don’t, this will prevent you from having enough time to properly and proactively manage the firm, making it your #1 client. you should have the attitude that you are never going to revert back to full-time client service.”
- “identify parts of your practice to transition and start it as soon as possible. it always takes longer than you think.”
- “the prior mp had minimal client responsibilities. but i still have many client responsibilities, which i don’t see diminishing anytime soon. however, i’m trying my best to release smaller engagements to other personnel.”
- “i have a client base that needs attention in addition to my new mp duties. i can’t seem to manage this yet without working a tremendous amount of hours.”
getting credibility and buy-in with the partners
- “make sure the partner group accepts and respects you, giving you the respect you need. being voted in is just a formality. you need to be sure the respect converts to the partners following your lead. for the first year, this took a lot of hard work to get the partners behind me.”
- “looking back, i wish i had determined a more effective way to communicate with the partners so they felt appropriately informed. better communication would have eliminated significant time wasted trying to find the right approach.”
- “try to dissuade partners from venting to each other instead of coming to you directly.”
- “very important to create a feeling of team.”
- “i’ve spent a lot of time getting my partners working together in a new ‘regime’ that is different from my predecessor’s. getting them to buy into our firm philosophy is very important. we’ve adopted new procedures that make sense for our firm. this has been challenging, to say the least.”
- “talk to the other partners and understand what their expectations are of the mp and how much authority you have. this should be done before you take the role and revisited annually. “
- “be open with the partners when problems arise. try to understand their point of view.”
- “be empathetic. think of your partners’ circumstances; put yourself in their shoes. you may not give them what they want, but at least you can try to understand their thinking.”
- “you will need to work on getting partner credibility every day; it never ends.”
- “spend lots of one-on-one time with them, continually building your relationships with them. it makes a big difference.”
- “be open and honest about things you don’t know or mistakes you make. my experience has been that my partners want me to succeed, and they respect someone who admits to faults and failures. the key is to correct them and improve yourself as you move forward. we are all human and therefore not perfect.”
prioritizing and delegating
- “the time i’ve spent on administrative matters, including conversations with employees, managers and partners, was way more than i anticipated. i am learning how to rely on others to help me. very challenging.”
- “you don’t have to do it alone, and you shouldn’t. sharing decision making, ideas and responsibilities and getting feedback, advice and perspective from several other partners ensures that you don’t have blinders on or tunnel vision when making decisions.”
- “you will never have enough time to do everything you know you should, so accept this. learn to prioritize the most important things and focus on those. think big and keep it simple.”
- “we’ve done a few mergers in recent years, and looking back on it, we probably should have spread them out more. too many changes happened at once.”
preparing for the job and homework
- “before i took the job, it would have helped to have taken more time to more clearly define the mp role. initially, it was unclear whether i should have more of an internal focus with lots of coo tasks or more of an external role, focusing on building the firm’s name and selling, relying on others for most of the coo tasks. both are important and there is not a clear answer. having a clearer definition allows you to be more successful. no one can do both and be effective all the time.”
- “spend time going to practice management conferences and listening to the gurus in the industry. your role should be up to date as to what is happening in the cpa industry and how firms are dealing with upcoming changes. make contacts with a few of these gurus and learn to use them as a resource going forward.”
- “be sure to join a roundtable group; it’s amazing what you learn from others just like you.”
transitioning
- “we planned the transition for two years and it still wasn’t enough. a myriad of internal administrative issues consumed tons of my time right at the get-go. these items were not properly transitioned. i should have handled them prior to my predecessor’s retirement to have a smooth transition.”
learning from the prior managing partner
- “run partner meetings with the current mp there to support you. you can change the meetings to your style, but understand that at the onset, this is your honeymoon period. use it to get some truly constructive feedback from everyone.”
- “if the firm is in the middle of some initiatives, make sure you know the details of them before the mp steps down.”
- “use the knowledge of your outgoing managing partner and other senior partners. while they may have a different style and you naturally want to do things your way, these people have great insight into your firm.”
handling partner buyout and compensation challenges
- “we bought out two partners, which proved to be much more complicated and difficult than we ever imagined. lesson learned: keep your partner buyout program simple and up to date (ours obviously was not) and make sure the payments do not hamper the firm’s cash flow.”
- “prior to officially assuming the mp job, be involved in the compensation process. this is your last chance to observe and learn before it will fall on your shoulders.”
- “remember that dealing with partner compensation issues is very personal with each person. it’s the most sensitive practice management duty that mps have.”
dealing with aversion to change
- “accounting is changing. just as doing a return by hand today seems ludicrous, some of the management practices we do today will be relics tomorrow. automation is going to play an ever-larger role in our industry. for some people, if they don’t retool, they will find themselves obsolete very quickly. firms cannot stand still. failing to change with the times is not an option.”
watching profitability
- “in the first two years after i took over, our firm increased revenues by 10 percent. unfortunately, due to increased expenses, we were not able to increase our income. the lesson: watch your costs and spend your money wisely. rapid growth can be expensive.”
developing style and rhythm
- “don’t sweat the small stuff. it will kill you if you do.”
- “accept that you will not be able to please everyone.”
- “accept that you cannot be perfect.”
- “don’t underestimate all the time it takes to properly prepare for the various meetings you will lead throughout the year.”
- “find a rhythm so you can manage your role and still be in control of your life.”
- “if someone is having problems, address them immediately. you may not have the solution but show them that they have caught your attention.”
- “don’t move too swiftly with change. take the time to get the buy-in of those involved, especially the partners.”
- “ask questions of others. i found out lots of history and reasons for methodology from others in our firm, like the firm administrator. they have lots of knowledge that may be untapped.”