If you are serious about making partner in your law, accountancy or consulting firm, similar to the top athletes, you are going to need a support team around you. Everyone’s support team will be different. However, I suggest that an effective support team will have people playing five different types of roles.
I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner – and when you get there, stay there. Here are 5 ways to work with me.
Mentor: Having someone in your firm who is more experienced and can act as a sounding board, and provide objective guidance and feedback is essential if you are going to make partner.
Executive or career coach: There are many benefits to having your own coach who is independent from your firm, although your firm may be paying for their time. 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.
Family: Having a supportive and happy home life is important, if you are to become a well-rounded individual who is properly equipped to handle the stresses and strains which are part and parcel of the every day life of a professional adviser.
Friends inside of work: You are going to be at work for a significant part of your working life. Therefore, if you are going to ‘fit in’ (read Chapter 10 of my book Poised for Partnership for FREE here) and enjoy your time at work then you need to have friends at work.
Friends outside of work: Good friends unconnected to your work life give you the opportunity to truly let your hair down, relax and let off steam outside of work. It is important not to let your friendships outside of work slide, as you never know when you may need them. Who do you have in your support team? Are there any gaps?
Why having a Support Team is so important
Six in ten professionals actively pursuing partnership are doing so without the active backing of the key people who could open doors for them. They are relying on their work to speak for itself. On partner track, that is rarely enough.
Listen to this episode of the How to Make Partner Podcast. I talk about who needs to be in your corner, why most people’s support teams have significant gaps, and how to start building yours to support you going forward.
In this episode you will learn:
Who the six types of people in an effective support team are, and why most people focus only on the first two
Why your mentor needs to be outside your practice area, and how to choose your mentor
How to have the one conversation with your sponsoring partner that most people avoid
Why the support around you outside of work matters just as much as the advocates inside the firm
I’m Heather Townsend, author of Poised for Partnership and co-author of How to Make Partner & Still Have a Life. I’m the leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner – and when you get there, stay there. Here are 5 ways to work with me.
Take a step forwards to working on your own career development and sign up to my weekly tips here and you’ll find out what you need to be working on in your career development (and how to make the time for your career development) to progress your career in your firm.
