that smile, that teamwork? genuine.
by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner
i have worked with over a thousand cpa firms during my 20-plus years of consulting. i’ve worked closely with hundreds of them. the 80/20 pareto principle certainly applies here: 20 percent shine brightly and are worthy of adulation. (managing partners, please, please, don’t call me to ask if you are in the 20 percent or the 80 percent group. i’ll plead the fifth!)
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today, i’ll share with you the traits of those managing partners who, in my opinion, were the best.
- they’re hard to reach because they’re so damn busy. when i telephone them, they are almost never at their desk because they are constantly out and about, meeting with clients, partners and other firm personnel. this is evidence that they understand that the managing partner position is a people job and they never, ever lose sight of this.
- their personalities are aligned. the managing partner and the other line partners seem to always be on the same page. no sniping or negative nellies. the partners truly seem to admire the managing partner’s leadership and decision-making skills.
- they handle compensation fairly. someone once told me that the acid test of a good income allocation system is when none of the partners are happy with it. i have never liked this because it’s a weak standard to accept. good managing partners make sure that the partner compensation system is administrated fairly and the vast majority of the partners feel that their income number is fair. the best way to accomplish this is with effective communication between the managing partner and each partner.
- they hold very few partner votes. effective leaders in any organization, not just cpa firms, cannot do their job if they have to take a vote every time a decision needs to be made.
- they’re stars in their town. whenever managing partners take me to a local restaurant in their city, they greet several people as we walk in. while we are dining, people come by our table to say hello. it’s as though the managing partner is a movie star who has been spotted. this shows me that the managing partner is visible in the community and revered by clients. maybe that’s why i have a hard time getting managing partners on the phone!
- they keep smiling and let their personality be their autograph. the best managing partners i’ve known are always smiling, and it’s sincere, not put on. smiling is contagious. it makes everyone around them happy. it radiates self-confidence. smiling makes the managing partner seem approachable to everyone in the firm.
- they’re often very good at business development. let me make this clear: one does not need to be a great business-getter to be the managing partner. i’ve known quite a few who weren’t. but when i think of the best managing partners i’ve known, the majority seem to be effective business-getters, though not necessarily rainmakers.
- batman needs robin. many great managing partners have a very effective high-level coo or firm administrator. this enables the managing partner to confidently stay out of administration and provides a trusted confidant who is not a mere yes-person. the coo/firm administrator is highly respected by the partners because they know when the coo says something, it’s the same as if the managing partner said it.
- they believe in teamwork. the managing partner is always thinking “team,” not “me” or “i.” again, genuine, not fake. this style is rooted in the knowledge that (a) joy is when people work together and collaborate on projects instead of adopting the lone ranger approach and (b) two or more heads are always better than one when brainstorming an issue to generate great ideas.
- they’re innovative, always coming up with new ideas and challenging old ways of doing things. status quo to a managing partner is like fingernails on a chalkboard. randy nail, the managing partner of $50 million hogan taylor, says: “our firm’s culture is to constantly do new things. our attitude is ‘if you can find a better way of doing bank recs, go ahead and do it.’ there is so much innovation in our firm that as mp, i don’t know all the initiatives going on.”
- they’re always doing succession planning. virtually all firms strongly prefer staying independent instead of merging out of existence as an exit strategy. to move this beyond wishful thinking requires an effective plan and execution of that plan. the firm needs to be good at recruiting, training, mentoring, and developing staff into future leaders and partners. this does not happen by accident.
- great mps make me work twice as hard as their consultant. they constantly challenge me when planning consulting engagements, especially partner retreats. the managing partner is driven to make the retreat a milestone affair, one that will be remembered as having profoundly affected the firm. i worked with the managing partner of a 12-partner firm on three or four consecutive retreats, and he always pushed me to come up with creative themes. example: we brought in an economics professor of a prestigious university to discuss the current economy. then the retreat group, which included managers, brainstormed ways the firm should react to what the professor said.
- they develop confidants. many managing partners develop a small, informal group of well-respected partners to provide counsel and advice on sensitive or difficult issues. this group may or may not overlap with the executive committee. it’s always clear that the managing partners make the final decision, but they value the advice of this small group.