Making a difference: What successful managing partners do

This latest article in the series on the relationship between partner engagement and firm performance focuses on the most critical of all the inhibitors to effective engagement: managing partners who do not truly understand the criticality of the linkage or have the knowledge of how to achieve it.

There are many reasons why too many managing partners fail to truly engage their partners, especially as no managing partner really ever sets out to fail. Indeed, almost every managing partner tries to do his job to the best of his ability. The problem is that, in the majority of firms, there isn’t any clarity around what the job actually entails and, consequently, how success can be achieved.

We recently interviewed 150 practicing and managing partners in a cross section of professional services firms across Europe and the US to ascertain what ?they believe successful managing partners do and, specifically, what they do to ?create and sustain their partners’ commitment to actively participating ?in delivering the firm’s future.¹

Our model of what successful managing partners do (see Figure 1) is adapted from the leadership model in When Professionals Have to Lead.² We have used the same overarching dimensions of direction, commitment, execution and personal example, and added context to reflect its impact on ?what firm leaders need to do.

So, what is it that successful ?managing partners do that differentiates them from their peers?

Setting direction

In our research, partners noted the need to have a clear sense of direction that they can coalesce around. But what they considered even more important is the translation of that direction into a compelling vision and the strategies for achieving it. If the vision isn’t compelling, then their willingness to take on board the managing partner’s ideas is greatly reduced, and so is the firm’s momentum.

Maintaining momentum is key: successful managing partners always focus people’s energies and attention ?on a small number of key priorities. By doing that, they ensure everyone is concentrating on the same things, rather than losing valuable time on less important initiatives. Sustaining momentum also means that partners must own the firm’s direction and strategies, as they are the ones who will implement them.

The managing partner has a major role to play in helping partners to sustain their enthusiasm and commitment. But, he can never get too far in front of their partners.

All of the partners we spoke to talked about how truly successful managing partners always have great antennae. They know where the firm is, what the mood of the partners is and can sense what’s possible (and, critically, what’s not).

One of the other things the successful managing partners have done to engage their partners is to keep reinforcing the vision by sharing stories of the things that are working or have worked. The stories are also shared rapidly across the firm, to help clarify what people would be doing in future and to demonstrate that the direction in which the firm is travelling is the correct one.

Gaining commitment

It is important for partners to walk together, to share a common vision. But, if the partners are to share that vision, they have to play an active part in determining the firm’s direction – and, critically, how it’s going to get there.

In the very best firms, the partners debate the options and, while it is incredibly rare for every partner to agree with every single aspect of the firm’s vision and strategy, the partners agree to line up behind the ultimate decisions.

One of the other things successful managing partners have done is to keep repeating the message about why and how. Constantly repeating the message is time consuming and, at times, deeply frustrating, but it’s absolutely key to sustaining commitment.

Smart managing partners find ways to ensure everyone has the chance to share their views and feel that they are involved. Successful managing partners understand that the only way to get real, sustained commitment is through creating a culture of trust and empowerment, underpinned ?by a shared belief in what are now sometimes considered the old-fashioned values of partnership.

Without doubt, the most emotive element in our discussions was the loss of values in partnerships. Nearly every practicing partner spoke passionately about the loss of partnership values and the nearly unanimous focus on individual billings and profits per equity partner.

Successful managing partners ?manage the delicate balancing act ?of being corporate at the top and ?practice-based below. The trick is to understand when moving away from ?being practice-based will result in increased operational efficiencies.

Another key task is focusing on the people who want to go with you, rather than those who don’t. It’s an easy mistake to make, but it is a mistake. As previously mentioned, not every partner will agree with every decision and, when momentum is key, the best way to achieve and maintain it is to engage the people who are enthusiastic and want to be a part of what you are trying to achieve.

Execution

Momentum is critical in driving change, which makes it critical to keep the partners focused. Partners find it all too easy to focus solely on client work; successful managing partners recognised this reality and kept their partners’ heads up with a combination of focused activities, the incessant repetition of the message of why and how, and rapidly sharing successes across the firm.

Appointing people who can help get things done is another key part of any managing partners’ armoury. Managing partners must appoint people to key positions who they trust and who have ?the capabilities to help them implement their plans.

Every firm understands the need to deliver outstanding client service. However, not all firms make the direct connection between outstanding client service and having the development processes in place that enable their people to deliver the necessary level of service.

But, with differentiation through delivery, a firm’s ability to make its professional engagement ready faster and more effectively than its competitors is a clear source of competitive advantage – and, critically, economic advantage.

In our discussions, every practicing and managing partner remarked that successful managing partners invested their time and energy in helping their partners to become effective leaders. After all, the partners are the culture ?in a professional service firm; what ?they do, how they do it and what they reward determines how the firm’s professionals behave.

Personal example

Not every firm can be the market leader, but every firm can strive to be the best at everything it does. Continually seeking the opinions of others is important, but the key is knowing when to act.

This is another application of judgment that successful managing partners have in abundance. The ability to take the firm’s temperature, to know where the partners are and to act accordingly is a core skill that feeds into many of the judgments that successful managing partners make.

Asking the partners to sustain high levels of performance is impossible if ?you don’t do it yourself, so being an exemplar of high performance is an absolute prerequisite for all successful managing partners.

One of the things that great role models do is to avoid the minutiae of management. Without exception, the practicing partners want their managing partner to be an effective leader: someone who has done all of the things required of them and carried them out in an authentic manner; someone who has earned their partners’ respect not just for what they have done but also for the way they did it.

Successful managing partners also take tough people decisions. Dealing with underperforming partners who don’t want to embrace the firm’s changing needs is a difficult and complex task, but, in every instance, the partners want their managing partners to deal with them.

Asking for help is the final behaviour that helps managing partners who are struggling to make sense of their role. ?In the best firms, this already happens with the successful managing partners asking for help when they need it.

Context is critical

There is a universal agreement that the ?role of managing partner is just too important and too complex, given the ?scale of the challenges firms are facing, to leave the selection of the appropriate candidate to chance.

But, it is naïve to assume every potential candidate will be able to operate effectively, no matter what the circumstances. Firms need to select the right candidate for the circumstances ?they face.

The link between partner engagement and firm performance must be at the ?core of every managing partner’s thinking and actions.

Partners are the culture in a professional services firm – what they do, what they say and what they reward determines what other people do. And, unless they are engaged and committed, no one else will be. The challenge for all managing partners is to ensure they are.

Rob Lees and Derek Klyhn are founding partners of Møller PSF Group and consultants to PSF leaders worldwide (www.mollerpsfgcambridge.com). ?August Aquila is an international speaker, writer and consultant to PSFs ?(www.aquilaadvisors.com).

Endnotes

1. For further details on the research findings, contact Derek Klyhn at ?derek.klyhn@mollerpsfgcambridge.com

2. See When Professionals Have To Lead, T.J. Delong, J. J. Gabarro and R. J. Lees, Harvard Business School Press, 2007