want to play at the peak of your game?
by august j. aquila
what makes a great partnership
so, what do the truly successful managing partners do that differentiates them from their peers? in this short post i will quickly summarize the results of my research, which entailed interviewing 150 practicing and managing partners in a cross-section of consulting, accounting and law firms across europe and the u.s., before focusing on the things great managing partners did to ensure they were always at the top of their game.
more: ten steps to a new managing partner | five ways to keep your edge as a leader | managing partner: the toughest job in the world | why partners need written goals | eight criteria for partnership | how you can get partners to change
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the model
this model of what successful managing partners do is adapted from the leadership model in “when professionals have to lead,” which rob lees co-authored with tom delong and jack gabarro. i have used the same overarching dimensions of direction, commitment, execution and personal example and added context to reflect its impact on what firm leaders need to do.
| direction
• provide a compelling direction and strategy • know where the firm “is” and what is possible • focus people’s attention and actions around key priorities • constantly assess the firm’s markets and determine when and how to respond • share successes that clarify what the future looks like |
commitment
• take the partners with them • motivate, empower and trust their partners • keep repeating the message • balance being a business and a profession • focus on the people who want to go with them rather than the people who don’t |
| execution
• initiate activities that drive and support the strategy • appoint people who help them get things done • help the partners be effective leaders • help clients and the firm’s people exceed their expectations • stay on top of the firm’s finances |
personal example
• demonstrate an unswerving commitment to being the best • seek and listen to the opinions of others but know when it’s time to act • reinforce the need for sustained high performance through their own actions • stay close to their/the firm’s key client relationships • avoid the minutiae of management • make the tough people decisions • ask for help when they need it |
the key activities that underpin the model
with differentiation in professional services only achieved through delivery, the key task for any managing partner is to ensure that everything the firm does is aligned with what it has to do to be successful in its markets. while the model outlines the behaviors that the successful managing partners demonstrated, they also did lots of other things that enabled them to consistently operate at the top of their game – and ensure the firm did too. naturally, there were lots of things we could include but these are the key ones:
keep your eye focused on the external market.
the great managing partners always did that but they did more. they were constantly searching their competitors and other firms in professional services and beyond to find new ways of doing things. they built burgeoning networks and used them extensively in their search for best practices. as one managing partner told me, “i see it as my job to beg, steal or borrow things that will make the firm better. naturally, we have to work out how to make things work in our environment, but why would we try to figure everything out ourselves when the answers or ideas are usually out there somewhere?” and when the ideas weren’t out there, they got their top people together with outsiders, who could contribute to the debate, to come up with ideas and potential solutions. in short, they never lost sight of the need for the firm to be the best at everything it did and never settled for second best.
appoint the right team.
the smart managing partners knew the importance of getting the right people in place, not just in the key management or client-serving positions but in the professional management group. the challenge for all appointees is to help the managing partner get things done through their personal contributions and their ability to influence the other partners. to do that they have got to have the trust and respect of the partnership and in the case of the professional management group that’s not always easily given, making the selection of the right people key. all too often i heard about managing partners who effectively subcontracted the selection process to an executive search firm but here’s how the best managing partners made sure they got the appointments right – they knew what “good” was (in learning, for example) and could engage the candidates around their own expertise and, consequently, were able to judge their likely fit much more effectively.
know where the firm “is.”
one of the consistent messages from my research is that the successful managing partners had great antennae. they constantly took the temperature of the partnership and knew when and how to suggest things. they never got too far in front of the partners but deliberately intervened to help sway the partners’ mood and opinions.
create a sense of intimacy.
“who would have thought a simple voicemail, not an email, could have made such a difference?” in medium-sized and large partnerships (especially multi-country ones), keeping in touch with the partners and making them feel an active part of the firm can be difficult and the best managing partners used many different channels to communicate with the partners and try and create a sense of intimacy, of involvement. one of the most successful we heard about was the weekly voicemail message, in which the managing partners talked about the firm but also shared personal thoughts and stories. to many people it sounds trite but in all the circumstances we heard about it really worked.
accept that failure is part of the process.
professional services firms typically react badly to failure but, when the firm is endeavoring to keep aligned while constantly responding to the challenge of being the best, failure should be seen as a natural part of the process. and failure is acceptable as long as it’s learned from. this is especially the case when firms want their people to innovate. in one example i heard about, an office in a multilocation firm strongly believed that reorganizing its service provision around the life cycle would significantly enhance client service and profitability. no one else did, including the managing partner. but the office was allowed to reorganize and, when the experiment failed to deliver, the managing partner helped the office to return to their previous organization. but, he did two other critical things. the first was not to attach any blame, and the second was to ensure everyone in the firm understood why the experiment didn’t work and could use that information in any future planning.
remember you’re dealing with professionals.
professionals are different. they have distinct motivational dynamics and managing partners forget them at their peril! so, for example, all of the best managing partners made sure their plans were thoroughly researched and stood the analytical test they were undoubtedly going to face. they also understood the need to ensure that the partners’ sense of self, which comes from their professional expertise, standing in the community, etc., was not challenged and that any attempts to add to their expertise were supported. the managing partners always pitched the changes as making the partners even more effective. it might seem like wordsmithing but psychologically it’s key.
create a sense of momentum.
the successful managing partners did whatever they could to accelerate the drive to be the best. they focused people’s energies on the key priorities, kept repeating the message about why and how and constantly shared success stories across the firm.
and the focus on success is crucial. all people, but especially professionals, like to be associated with success so the best managing partners kept sharing stories of all different scales of achievement, which played to that need.
be out there consistently beating the drum.
the most successful managing partners were always out there. they were constantly on the road, attending partner meetings, meeting partners in small groups or individually, talking on training programs, meeting clients. in short, they were accessible.
they knew that the partners as the implementers of the firm’s plans were the key people in the firm and that the managing partner’s job was to help them in any way they could.
one final thing
it is crucial for the firm that the right person is playing at his or her peak. and this is where the fifth element of the model, context, comes in. my research confirmed, unsurprisingly, that choosing the right person for the circumstances the firm is facing is absolutely critical. so the challenge for every firm is to make sure they develop a group of potential managing partners capable of dealing with the different challenges the firm may face in the future. that way, they can select the right person for the role, knowing they have a leader capable of taking the firm forward, of ensuring it is and remains “best in class.”