do you have what it takes? bonus: six boxes to check off, and seven tough questions.
by marc rosenberg
what is the right stuff to earn a promotion to partner? this is one of several questions that if asked of ten partners from different firms, you may get ten different answers.
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i have worked the following script dozens of times at partner retreats: i ask the group what it means to be a partner and write their responses on a flipchart. when we’re done, one of the partners yells out “oh no. none of us qualifies!” and because the truth is often said in jest, this retort is no joke.
wouldn’t it be wonderful if every partner in every firm was a star partner? for almost all firms, this is an impossible dream. so how high should the bar be raised – realistically – to become a partner, or conversely, how low should it go?
following are common examples of skills and traits that cpa firms require of their partner-potentials before they are promoted to partner. plus: six boxes partner-candidates must be able to check off, and seven of the toughest questions to assess readiness. this list is not all-inclusive and will vary from firm to firm.
1. build great relationships with clients. so much so that clients are equally comfortable calling or talking to the partner potential than the pic. this is not limited to sociability. it’s about partner-potentials being able to show clients that they are sharp, engaging, responsive professionals that have the knowledge and experience to truly help solve their problems, that they add value.
2. credibility with the staff for being a great trainer, supervisor, and delegator; someone the staff see as being able to help them in their career, not just someone who has a higher title.
3. ability to mentor staff and help them learn and grow. this is different than #2 above, which is how the staff see the partner- potential. this is about what the partner-potential actually does to develop staff.
4. supervision of staff and the ability to delegate work to them. along with items #2 and #3 above, effectiveness at supervising the staff’s work, including delegating work to them (instead of hoarding it for him/herself), is critically important. a foundation of successful and profitable cpa firms is partners leveraging their staff. this can’t be done unless partners are effective at supervising people.
5. good communication skills. able to be clear and effective in oral (face to face and telephone) and written (emails and texts) communication. ability to be persuasive with clients, staff, partners and referral sources.
6. high energy; great attitude about their work and passionate about the firm. willing to do what it takes to get the job done, while still maintaining a work-life balance. healthy work ethic.
7. trustworthy. this is not about stealing money or committing other illegal or unethical acts. instead, this is about partners feeling they can trust the person’s judgment, that they will not take shortcuts, will not put the firm in danger. and finally, it’s about other partners feeling good about being able to call the partner-potential “my partner.”
8. team player. is this person a “me” person or a “we” person? looks to do what’s good for the firm before doing what’s good for them. helps others – not just “willing” to help others, but actually helping them in areas such as cross-selling, involving others in their clients, not hoarding billable hours and clients, etc.
9. productivity. the new partner must regularly demonstrate the ability to achieve a target number of billable hours at an acceptable realization level.
10. be a self-starter. develop a reputation for reliability and timeliness. someone who gets things done.
11. self-confidence.
12. leadership. the world is made up of leaders and followers. there are way more followers than leaders. that makes leaders special and that’s important because, to be a partner in a firm, one needs to be special, to stand out from all the rest of the staff. people want to follow leaders.
13. comfort with practice development. this doesn’t mean a person needs to be a rainmaker. but they truly believe in the adage “you can’t not try” when it comes to developing business. should have a healthy attitude towards pd and actually devote a meaningful amount of time on a continuous basis to pd practices that are effective (i.e., not taking your best friends out to lunch all the time).
14. perform work at a high level. this does not mean that to be a partner, one has to be a technical guru. but it does mean that when partners have technically complex, demanding tasks or projects, they are comfortable delegating them to the partner-potential because of the confidence they have in them to perform at a high level. acid test: for the most part, when the partner-potential submits work to a partner for review, very few changes are required.
15. willing and able to assume the financial responsibilities of becoming a partner. in addition to possessing most or all of the above performance traits, partner-potentials need to understand the two financial responsibilities of becoming a partner and commit to them. first, the new partner must be able and willing to pay the new-partner buy-in required by the firm. usually, firms are willing to accommodate the new partners and work out a payment plan that is affordable. second, the new partner must commit to buying out retiring partners. this usually is not done directly by the new partner, but instead, indirectly as one of several owners of the firm. again, these arrangements are usually affordable.
now it’s time to assess the current staff to determine how many have the potential to become a partner. on a flipchart, list each staff person that the partners agree has the potential to become a partner within, say, the next five years.
each line of the flipchart might contain checkboxes for each of these nine data points:
- name
- age
- years with firm
- office
- title
- year ready for partner
- skills/ experience needed
- do they really want to be a partner?
- willing/ able to buy in?
but more importantly, each partner-potential musy=yt be asses against the following criteria:
1. how effective are they in their current positions?
2. do they have partner potential? how far off?
3. what further skills and accomplishments are needed before they can be offered a partnership?
4. do they want to be a partner? do they know what it means to be a partner? do they know what it takes to be a partner?
5. how willing and how able are they to pay the buy-in?
6. will they commit to making retirement payments to retiring?
7. will they sign non-solicitation agreements as staff?
once you’ve completed this stage, you can move on to the next stage: creating a game plan for developing the chosen staff persons into partner material.