talent

4 winning habits of top accountants.

by martin bissett

i’ve had the benefit of meeting, speaking and observing hundreds of very successful and unsuccessful partners over the last two decades and there is indeed a set of differentiating factors that set a partner apart from the chasing pack.

more on the passport to partnership: 3 questions to evaluate your firm culture | learn to read your firm’s culture | 5 ways to get buy-in for firm culture | competence: more than technical skills | experts advise what partnership takes | partnership: competence is just the foot in the door | are you partner material? maybe not

here are the four “best-selling behaviors” that i’ve observed:

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4 reasons that senior managers struggle.

by martin bissett

ultimately, when we have to interact with clients, subordinates, superiors or peers, the questions are always the same: who do i need to deliver this information to and what approach would they respond most favorably to?

more on the passport to partnership: 3 questions to evaluate your firm culture | learn to read your firm’s culture | competence: more than technical skills | experts advise what partnership takes | partnership: competence is just the foot in the door

in arriving at “communication” we come to the most intangible of all the components to obtain a “passport to partnership.”
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learn to read your firm’s ‘cultural blueprint.’

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what conclusions can you draw from your knowledge of how the promotion system works in your firm that you need to keep in mind?

more on the passport to partnership: 3 questions to evaluate your firm culture | learn to read your firm’s culture | 5 ways to get buy-in for firm culture | competence: more than technical skills | experts advise what partnership takes | partnership: competence is just the foot in the door | are you partner material? maybe not

in terms of firm culture, you need to understand the four navigational points of the compass:

1. who do i need to stay on the right side of?
2. what are the unwritten rules in my firm?
3. whose opinions can be trusted?
4. what really impresses the partners?

and here’s a five-part analysis to see how you measure up:

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change management is one of the keys.

by martin bissett

cultural issues are dynamic, very broad and unique in each firm. as such it is a challenge to summarize them accurately and comprehensively.

more on the passport to partnership: competence: more than technical skills | experts advise what partnership takes | partnership: competence is just the foot in the door | are you partner material? maybe not

from our research, however, the wise choice for anyone wishing to get their passport to partnership appears to be to study

• their firm’s existing culture,
• that of its senior individuals and
• that of those who have the ear of those senior individuals

to understand not only the route to partnership, but the terrain that they need to cross too.
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12 ways to determine your competence.

by martin bissett

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. two brief but succinct examples that really stood out on the realities of how a firm assesses an individual’s “competence” to lead are showcased below.

more on the passport to partnership: experts advise what partnership takes | partnership: competence is just the foot in the door | are you partner material? maybe not

1. they need to explain technical data to me in a way that i know they understand it.
2. what kind of lifestyle does this person have outside of work? we’ll be looking at facebook, twitter and google to find out.

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