if you had to do it over again, would you approach your ascension to the managing partner job differently? in what ways?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\ntheir responses tell us as much about how to do the job well as how to fail at it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nword cloud:<\/strong> what managing partners talk about when they talk about managing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\ndealing with people issues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cpeople issues are easily the most challenging aspect of being a new mp. i\u2019m constantly dealing with the staff\u2019s personal issues, skills, and quirks, how they see the world and how they fit in with our firm \u2013 or don\u2019t fit in.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cmany challenging personnel issues consumed a great deal of my initial time, which was made more difficult due to significant revenue growth and a challenging busy season. new mps need to be prepared for these issues by allowing time for discussions and keeping an open mind with firm personnel.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ccommunication, communication, communication! i can never do too much of this.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cone challenge, in particular, is dealing with differing career ambitions of the staff. some want to constantly improve and rise in the firm while others, who are quite competent, are content being long-term senior accountants or managers. given the dire shortage of staff in the cpa industry, there are places in our firm for productive people who are less ambitious; we just have to be clear with the staff about this. if people don\u2019t have lofty career goals, i still have to remember that they are good people who work hard and have a family. the tough part comes when they are not meeting work standards and changes need to be made.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ca related issue has been dealing with underperforming managers. often the issues are poor work habits or resistance to change. this is common at our firm because we have merged in several smaller firms that had managers that are struggling to meet our standards. in some cases, they are responsive to our efforts to re-engineer them. others are not salvageable.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nbalancing time between managing partner and client duties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201ctransfer your clients as soon and as thoroughly as you can because if you don\u2019t, this will prevent you from having enough time to properly and proactively manage the firm, making it your #1 client. you should have the attitude that you are never going to revert back to full-time client service.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cidentify parts of your practice to transition and start it as soon as possible. it always takes longer than you think.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cthe prior mp had minimal client responsibilities. but i still have many client responsibilities, which i don\u2019t see diminishing anytime soon. however, i\u2019m trying my best to release smaller engagements to other personnel.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ci have a client base that needs attention in addition to my new mp duties. i can\u2019t seem to manage this yet without working a tremendous amount of hours.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\ngetting credibility and buy-in with the partners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cmake sure the partner group accepts and respects you, giving you the respect you need. being voted in is just a formality. you need to be sure the respect converts to the partners following your lead. for the first year, this took a lot of hard work to get the partners behind me.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201clooking back, i wish i had determined a more effective way to communicate with the partners so they felt appropriately informed. better communication would have eliminated significant time wasted trying to find the right approach.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ctry to dissuade partners from venting to each other instead of coming to you directly.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cvery important to create a feeling of team.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ci\u2019ve spent a lot of time getting my partners working together in a new ‘regime’ that is different from my predecessor’s. getting them to buy into our firm philosophy is very important. we\u2019ve adopted new procedures that make sense for our firm. this has been challenging, to say the least.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201ctalk to the other partners and understand what their expectations are of the mp and how much authority you have. this should be done before you take the role and revisited annually. \u201c<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cbe open with the partners when problems arise. try to understand their point of view.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cbe empathetic. think of your partners\u2019 circumstances; put yourself in their shoes. you may not give them what they want, but at least you can try to understand their thinking.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cyou will need to work on getting partner credibility every day; it never ends.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cspend lots of one-on-one time with them, continually building your relationships with them. it makes a big difference.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cbe open and honest about things you don\u2019t know or mistakes you make.\u00a0my experience has been that my partners want me to succeed, and they respect someone who admits to faults and failures.\u00a0the key is to correct them and improve yourself as you move forward. we are all human and therefore not perfect.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nprioritizing and delegating<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cthe time i\u2019ve spent on administrative matters, including conversations with employees, managers and partners, was way more than i anticipated. i am learning how to rely on others to help me. very challenging.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cyou don\u2019t have to do it alone, and you shouldn\u2019t. sharing decision making, ideas and responsibilities and getting feedback, advice and perspective from several other partners ensures that you don\u2019t have blinders on or tunnel vision when making decisions.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cyou will never have enough time to do everything you know you should, so accept this. learn to prioritize the most important things and focus on those. think big and keep it simple.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cwe\u2019ve done a few mergers in recent years, and looking back on it, we probably should have spread them out more. too many changes happened at once.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\npreparing for the job and homework<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cbefore i took the job, it would have helped to have taken more time to more clearly define the mp role. initially, it was unclear whether i should have more of an internal focus with lots of coo tasks or more of an external role, focusing on building the firm\u2019s name and selling, relying on others for most of the coo tasks. both are important and there is not a clear answer. having a clearer definition allows you to be more successful. no one can do both and be effective all the time.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cspend time going to practice management conferences and listening to the gurus in the industry. your role should be up to date as to what is happening in the cpa industry and how firms are dealing with upcoming changes. make contacts with a few of these gurus and learn to use them as a resource going forward.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cbe sure to join a roundtable group; it\u2019s amazing what you learn from others just like you.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\ntransitioning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cwe planned the transition for two years and it still wasn\u2019t enough. a myriad of internal administrative issues consumed tons of my time right at the get-go. these items were not properly transitioned. i should have handled them prior to my predecessor\u2019s retirement to have a smooth transition.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nlearning from the prior managing partner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201crun partner meetings with the current mp there to support you. you can change the meetings to your style, but understand that at the onset, this is your honeymoon period. use it to get some truly constructive feedback from everyone.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cif the firm is in the middle of some initiatives, make sure you know the details of them before the mp steps down.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cuse the knowledge of your outgoing managing partner and other senior partners. while they may have a different style and you naturally want to do things your way, these people have great insight into your firm.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nhandling partner buyout and compensation challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cwe bought out two partners, which proved to be much more complicated and difficult than we ever imagined.\u00a0lesson learned: keep your partner buyout program simple and up to date (ours obviously was not) and make sure the payments do not hamper the firm’s cash flow.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cprior to officially assuming the mp job, be involved in the compensation process. this is your last chance to observe and learn before it will fall on your shoulders.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cremember that dealing with partner compensation issues is very personal with each person. it\u2019s the most sensitive practice management duty that mps have.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\ndealing with aversion to change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201caccounting is changing. just as doing a return by hand today seems ludicrous, some of the management practices we do today will be relics tomorrow. automation is going to play an ever-larger role in our industry. for some people, if they don\u2019t retool, they will find themselves obsolete very quickly. firms cannot stand still. failing to change with the times is not<\/strong> an option.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nwatching profitability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cin the first two years after i took over, our firm increased revenues by 10 percent. unfortunately, due to increased expenses, we were not able to increase our income. the lesson: watch your costs and spend your money wisely. rapid growth can be expensive.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\ndeveloping style and rhythm<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\u201cdon\u2019t sweat the small stuff. it will kill you if you do.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201caccept that you will not be able to please everyone.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201caccept that you cannot be perfect.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cdon\u2019t underestimate all the time it takes to properly prepare for the various meetings you will lead throughout the year.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cfind a rhythm so you can manage your role and still be in control of your life.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cif someone is having problems, address them immediately. you may not have the solution but show them that they have caught your attention.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cdon\u2019t move too swiftly with change.\u00a0take the time to get the buy-in of those involved, especially the partners.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n\u201cask questions of others. i found out lots of history and reasons for methodology from others in our firm, like the firm administrator. they have lots of knowledge that may be untapped.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<\/a> \neverything from gaining credibility to where to turn for help.<\/strong><\/p>\nby marc rosenberg<\/i> \nthe role of the managing partner<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n we posed three questions to the new managing partners:<\/p>\n
\nwhat advice would you give a new managing partner?<\/li>\n what were your<\/em> greatest challenges when you became a managing partner?<\/li>\nif you had to do it over again, would you approach your ascension to the managing partner job differently? in what ways?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"author":1339,"featured_media":85710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2741,1363,2259,1908,3120,3002,2266],"tags":[1445],"class_list":["post-85578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-checklist","category-featured","category-leadership","category-management","category-pro-member-exclusive","category-special","category-partner","tag-managing-partner"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n44 hard-earned tips from new managing partners - 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n