Why is Support Team so important to your future career progression?
Making partner is a marathon not a sprint. Like any good long-distance endurance athlete, you will need your own Support Team to help and support you along the way.
Your Support Team is composed of people who are drawn from your personal, professional and family network.
All the members of your Support Team have an important role to play in helping you achieve your aim of making partner and living to tell the tale.
The perfect support team will be different for everyone.
Of course, the exact makeup of a Support Team will be different for everyone. However, an effective Support Team when you are on Partner Track is likely to include these 6 types of people.
Mentor
Your Mentor is someone in your firm who is more experienced, can act as a sounding board and provide objective guidance and feedback. They can also help you increase your profile in the partnership.
Sponsoring Partner
This person is normally the Head of your department or practice area. They are typically the person who will decide whether you are ready or not to go on Partner Track and be recommended for partnership. If you don't have their blessing to go for partnership, then it will be pretty much impossible to make partner at your firm.
External Coach
Your own coach helps you to take time out from the hurly-burly of your work life to focus on what really matters to you. They will also work with you in acquiring the key skills and knowledge required to make partner. An independent coach can often be the only person you can totally confide in without fear of risking your progression to partner.
Family
Having a supportive and happy home life is important. It is very difficult to truly excel at work if you are having long-term problems with your family life.
Friends inside of work
By going for partner in your firm, you are committing the next 5+ years of your life to this firm. Therefore, if you are going to be your best at work, you need to have colleagues whom you like, trust, respect and think of as friends.
A supportive 'life' partner
Sadly, most of us, just when we are ready to accelerate to partner, also have conflicting priorities such as a young family. Regardless of your family situation, you do need a supportive 'other half.' If they don't support you with your career ambition, it's going to be hard work.