three questions about your competence

how do others view your partnership readiness?

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style.

more: competence is step one of seven | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet | don’t think of it as selling | experts: what it takes to become partner | where is your next money coming from? | your website promises. do you deliver?
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but two brief but succinct examples on the realities of how a firm assesses an individual’s “competence” for leadership are showcased really stood out:

1. they need to explain technical data to me in a way that i know they understand.

2. what kind of lifestyle does this person have outside of work? we’ll be looking at facebook, twitter, and google to find out.

so, if you are going to be considered for leadership and/or partnership in this firm in the future, where do you need to improve your competence?

• in the quality of work presented for review?
• in the way you treat others in the firm?
• in the way you act under pressure?
• in the way you deal with clients?
• in the way you represent the firm publicly?

partnership pointers

ask yourself and answer these questions when considering your competence as a leader.

1. what were the greatest challenges that the partners of my firm faced in their careers and how did they handle it?
2. what are the three main traits that my partners are looking for in a leader of our firm?
3. if a partner saw all my online activity, would their opinion of my suitability for leadership be altered, either way?

a case study

michael was the “heir apparent” in his four-partner firm. he had worked his way up from being a junior on less than $16,000 a year through to being on the verge of partnership.

while michael was thought of as being diligent, mature and certainly leadership material, the promise of seniority had also brought a small but growing complacency in his attitude toward clients.

a lazy misjudgment of the urgency of an issue had led to a client losing out on the purchase of a major office development, a client to whom the firm billed over $100,000 a year, and which resulted in a complaint about michael to the managing partner.

michael found himself in the managing partner’s office and this time, not for after-work drinks or friendly chitchat.

rather, michael was chastised for his laissez-faire attitude. the managing partner told him:

you have exhibited a tendency to try and use routine answers for situations you have found yourself in. although your experience and therefore “stock” grows over time, you have neither in sufficient quantity to afford yourself the luxury of using them with clients of this firm, especially not ones who it would take us years to replace were we ever to lose them.

you have a need to increase your competence in a leadership role by listening to the client, even if you think you’ve understood their position, and think things through carefully, taking advice from the partners if necessary before responding to the client.

there is nothing wrong with advising the client that you don’t immediately have an answer for them but will investigate and return and report within an agreed timescale.

this will increase rather than decrease the client’s respect for you and help you to understand that we never stop learning in this firm.

you’ve come a long way, michael, and we have high hopes for you; don’t take your foot off the pedal now.

perfecting the personal brand

1. what are the major characteristics that your colleagues would use to describe you if put on the spot?
2. what are the major characteristics that your partners would use to describe you if put on the spot?
3. is there any discrepancy between the two? what do you need to correct, if anything?
4. what are the main examples of your command of the first c (competence) that your partners have seen you demonstrate in your roles in the firm?

what started off in the study as merely a technical “ante” to get in the game for anyone wishing to be considered as a future partner of their firm has expanded in both definition and scope.

competence then is the overall outlook of an individual’s skill set, behaviors, attitudes and track record during their time with the firm and how that measures up to who the partners want to pass the torch to, when the time comes.

do you fit the bill?

posted on july 18, 2023