{"id":77938,"date":"2020-07-16t12:45:30","date_gmt":"2020-07-16t16:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=77938"},"modified":"2020-07-29t09:19:23","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29t13:19:23","slug":"13-bad-behaviors-by-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2020\/07\/16\/13-bad-behaviors-by-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"the 13 signs you have a partner problem"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>and seven ways to fix it.<\/strong><\/p>\n by marc rosenberg<\/i> in my experience, roughly 60 percent of all cpa firms (below the top 100) have either major partner conflict or a pronounced lack of effective partner communication and\/or relations.<\/p>\n more: <\/b>covid-19, adversity and innovation<\/a> | how covid impacts partner retirements<\/a> | \u00a0three tough questions in partner buyouts<\/a> | is mandatory retirement a best practice?<\/a> | covid-19: how your firm can respond<\/a> | reward partners for performing like partners<\/a> this is a huge problem because unless the partners of a firm work reasonably well together, it is very difficult for their firm to be truly successful. i\u2019ve always been a believer of the adage \u201cpartners who play well together do well together.\u201d when these negative behaviors are exhibited, partners are annoyed and upset at the conduct of the misbehaving partner. partners\u2019 natural anxiety over dealing with conflict usually results in the key players avoiding the disputes. but the negative feelings don\u2019t go away, resulting in sort of a cold war or stalemate when bad behaviors are not addressed.<\/p>\n here are some bad behaviors i see over and over again by partners.<\/p>\n 1. partners say that the firm\u2019s staff are just as important as clients, but they don\u2019t act like it and they certainly don\u2019t allocate their time like they mean it. the worst behavior is when a partner treats staff disrespectfully or abusively.<\/p>\n 2. always coming up with excuses why they didn\u2019t perform a basic partner duty (bill on time, collect receivables, deliver client reports on time, delegate, etc.).<\/p>\n 3. partners are jealous of those who outperform them instead of feeling overjoyed because the firm is fortunate enough to have highly productive owners. some of these lower-paid partners (not low-paid partners) are resentful of higher-performing partners\u2019 higher compensation. making matters worse, some high performers \u201crub it in.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. there is a tendency for partners to feel like they\u2019ve \u201cmade it.\u201d almost like a monarchy, feeling like their actions are never to be questioned. their attitude toward accountability never voiced publicly, goes something like this: \u201ci\u2019m all for partner accountability as long as it doesn\u2019t affect me.\u201d<\/p>\n 5. objections by lower-performing partners to making the partner compensation system more performance-based because they don\u2019t want their \u201cfree ride\u201d to end. a frequent refrain: \u201ci don\u2019t need comp to motivate me.\u201d<\/p>\n 6. partners reach a point where they manage a large client base, have been partners for many years, and earn a great income. they become satisfied, somewhat complacent, and coast. a feeling like \u201ci would be perfectly fine if things stayed the same and nothing changed\u201d (a recipe for stagnation if there ever was one). other partners who are hustling every day to grow the firm naturally become resentful of the coasters.<\/p>\n 7. a partner does too much staff-level work instead of delegating it to staff, offering as an alibi that the staff isn\u2019t qualified to do the work because they aren\u2019t trained well enough. this, of course, is a catch-22 \u2013 part of the reason the staff is poorly trained is that some partners hog all the work.<\/p>\n 8. rainmakers consistently abuse the firm\u2019s policies and procedures. they think they can get away with anything because they feel the firm lacks the courage to do something about it (and they\u2019re probably right!).<\/p>\n 9. partners publicly agree with the firm\u2019s vision and practices but privately, bad-mouth them or fail to comply with them.<\/p>\n 10. lacking good organizational and time management skills, partners give staff last-minute projects with a tight deadline. then the work sits in the partner\u2019s office for three weeks.<\/p>\n 11. no one knows where certain partners are.<\/p>\n 12. i asked a partner a while back: \u201cwhy don\u2019t you market?\u201d his appalling response: \u201cno one else markets so why should i?\u201d<\/p>\n 13. negative nellies: \u201cgoal setting is not for us. we tried it a few years ago and it didn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nthe rosenberg practice management library<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nexclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n
\nhow do conflicts arise? what causes partner relations to suffer? perhaps the biggest factor is bad behavior by specific partners. as i write this, i feel like a grade-school teacher talking about his students, but sad to say there are more similarities between the misguided behaviors of grade school students and cpa firm partners than you think.<\/p>\n13 bad behaviors<\/h3>\n
7 ways to deal with underperforming partners<\/h3>\n
\n