How the L&D team should support and develop new partners

When a person walks through the doors of her firm on the first day of being a partner, a whole new world has opened up for her. She has access to management data probably never shared before, she is expected to have definitive answers to problems which she may not even have been consulted on during the previous week and she is expected to hit the ground running in a highly competitive environment.

We tend to talk about the ‘career ladder’ but, in reality, we are constantly moving from the top rung of one ladder onto the bottom rung of another one, according to the career milestones involved. New partners have stepped off the top of the associate or assistant career ladder onto the bottom of the partnership ladder, representing a change of role with different responsibilities and expectations.

As a result, the new partner needs to recognise that she is about to experience change, be well prepared to manage that transition and also feel supported by the firm.

First 100 days

New partners face huge pressures which their learning and development (L&D) teams should help them with in finding their way through this critical transition period. The starting place for an L&D team will be the new partner’s business plan, which she will have developed in order to help secure her promotion to partnership.

The L&D team should help the partner to review her starting place through something as simple as a SWOT or PEST analysis, as well as by setting critical success factors and key performance indicators. Having an action plan based on the partner’s professional strengths and the criteria she wishes to be measured against is an important starting point.

The first 100 days in a new role are very important as a critical period of formation and in establishing and meeting early expectations, especially of fellow partners and, in some cases, of former peers.

It is important to work in three phases: 30 days, 60 days and the final 40 days. This breaks the challenge down into achievable segments and helps the partner to avoid being overwhelmed and unduly pressured. It is also important to plan for some quick wins and to help new partners to ‘set out their stall’ so that others know what to expect in terms of their performance standards.

Some firms are able to offer individuals a new partner development programme, which will typically address topics like leadership, financial management, firm management, business development and client services from the firm’s strategic perspective. Whether such programmes are available or not, new partners need to decide what type of partner they envisage themselves being.

They also need to understand the significance of and develop a capability in political intelligence. Some firms operate an ‘eat what you kill’ approach, while others are more collegiate in their approach, so understanding the competitive and political internal landscape is an early but important challenge.

In the absence of a formal programme, the L&D team should provide some workshops or steer partners towards suitable conferences or external courses. It should also provide recommended reading lists or refer partners to useful articles.

If formal sessions on typical new partner development topics are not available, then the new partner ought to look to her fellow partners for guidance. Support through coaching or mentoring by fellow partners and, when necessary, through external coaches is essential in this key transition period.

Time for reflection

It is important that new partners, whether they have a formal programme or not, are given every possible opportunity to discuss and reflect on their experiences and challenges, which will be invaluable to their continuous development. By evaluating their decision making and actions, new partners will constantly learn and grow into their new responsibilities. If they feel properly supported and can spend time reflecting on how they can deliver their goals and the firm’s vision, success will beckon them and their firms.

Sue Beavil is the senior learning and development manager at international law firm Mayer Brown (www.mayerbrown.com)