bonus: questions for self-evaluation.
by august j. aquila
what makes a great partnership
the responsibilities of a managing partner can be captured in the following two paragraphs:
general responsibilities include reporting directly to the governing committee and the firm, being responsible for the firm’s overall management and practice, supervising the overall marketing and business development effort, managing the professional staff and providing guidance for the support staff.
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specific responsibilities include coordinating the firm’s practices among the different offices and departments, implementing the partnership agreement, appointing heads of various committees, representing the firm in community and professional organizations, supervising the functioning of the governing committee, overseeing the functioning of standing and ad hoc committees, providing guidance on financial policies and working with the governing committee to develop personal and administrative policies.
these are without doubt good areas, but are they the ones managing partners should focus on?
- future thinking. the managing partner needs to be the one who’s looking three to five years into the future. he or she needs to be asking: “how is the market changing? how is the profession changing? how will it impact my firm?”
how much time do you spend thinking about the future?
- agent of change. the managing partner needs to be the person who initiates change when change is necessary, which is quite frequent these days. in connection with the implementation of change, he or she has to assure everyone that change is the right answer.
on a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a change agent?
how would your fellow partners rate you?
- coach and motivator. the managing partner needs to be coach and motivator for the other partners. he or she has to give the other partners responsibility, but he/she has to hold them accountable too. holding partners accountable is very important and differentiates a successful firm from a so-so firm.
what coaching or motivating activities do you do on a daily or weekly basis?
- cheerleader. the managing partner needs to be the main cheerleader for the firm. he/she has to convince people that the firm is a good place to work and provides all staff with opportunities for development.
on a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a cheerleader?
how would your partners and staff rate you?
- business developer. the managing partner is usually one of the top business developers in the firm. by means of his/her position, the managing partner has an opportunity to develop as much or more business as any other partner or staff.
where do you rank among the rainmakers in your firm?
- community. the managing partner must be involved in the community. he/she is the representative of the firm and the community needs to see him/her involved and participating. it is very important that his/her face is seen in the community.
how active are you in your local community?
- organized. in order to do the job of managing partner, he/she needs to be very organized because of the many roles he/she plays in the firm.
organization is one of my strong points. true or false?
- finger on the pulse. even though the managing partner needs to be looking toward the future, he/she must have his/her finger on the pulse of the firm. by this, i mean he/she has to know the numbers, has to be aware of production on a weekly basis, the level of billings this month and year-to-date, and of cash receipts. the bottom line of the firm is the managing partner’s responsibility.
ask me any critical question about the operations of the firm and i generally know the answer. true or false?