Direction: The question no one asks before going for partner

Delegation or are you freeing yourself up for higher value activities?

Only 41% of professionals on the partnership track say they have a trusted group of people they regularly delegate to. This episode explores why that gap is so costly. And what to do about it. This episode explores what effective delegation actually looks like, where it typically breaks down, and how to build the team around you that makes it possible. In this episode you will learn: Why the inability to delegate is one of the most reliable ways to derail a promising partnership case, however strong your billable time is The difference between delegating and dumping, and the one question that tells you immediately whether your junior actually understands what they need to do The Mindset traps that talk talented professionals out of delegating, and why they feel so rational How to build a wider pool of people who actively want to work for you, so you are not left exposed when your best team members get pulled elsewhere What psychological safety has to do with delegation, and how to create it in a hybrid team Take the Partnership Readiness Assessment Free to complete, 15–20 minutes, and gives you a personalised report across all 12 key indicators, including exactly where to focus your first ONE BIG FOCUS. Take the assessment here [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/]. Buy Poised for Partnership To buy a copy of Poised for Partnership, click here [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3]. What help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions? The Progress to Partner Academy is curated by key indicators. If Delegation is where you need to focus, you’ll find everything in one place. Inside the Delegation indicator, you’ll find practical support to help you stop holding on to too much work and start freeing up the time you need to focus on your progression. You’ll find resources to help you delegate with more confidence and clarity, including: How to Get a Delegation Mindset How to Delegate Effectively so You Have Time to Work on Your Career Courageous Conversations: How to Become an Expert at Difficult Conversations How to Delegate Like a Pro course Inside the How to Delegate Like a Pro course, you’ll watch four videos with practical exercises to complete after each one. By the end of the course, you will have: Understood how to delegate effectively Identified the right mindset for delegation Improved your ability to delegate work to others Built more confidence in letting go of tasks that no longer need to sit with you These resources will help you: Make delegation part of how you work, not something you do only when you are overwhelmed Create more space for business development, leadership and career progression Have better conversations when work needs to be passed on, reviewed or improved Build the skills and confidence to develop others while protecting your own time Focus on the work that will move your career forward If Delegation is where you need to focus, this section of Progress to Partner will help you stop carrying everything yourself and start creating the space, support and confidence you need to progress towards partnership. Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership. Click here to join [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/]. Books mentioned Poised for Partnership by Heather Townsend -https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life by Heather Townsend and Jo Larbie - https://amzn.to/4iLxugM [https://amzn.to/4iLxugM] Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe [https://howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Support Team - The people you need around you to make it to partner

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. This episode covers the fourth of the 12 key indicators of partnership readiness: Support Team. This episode explores 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 Take the Partnership Readiness Assessment Free to complete, 15–20 minutes, and gives you a personalised report across all 12 key indicators, including exactly where to focus your first ONE BIG FOCUS. Take the assessment here [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/]. Buy Poised for Partnership To buy a copy of Poised for Partnership, click here [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3]. What help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions? The Progress to Partner Academy is curated by key indicators. If Support Team is where you need to focus, you’ll find everything in one place: Inside the Support Team indicator, you’ll find practical support to help you build the relationships, confidence and backing you need around you as you progress towards partnership. You’ll find resources to help you strengthen how you work with others, including: - How to Say No to Partners, Clients and Friends - A Deep Dive into Giving Feedback - How a Mentor Can Accelerate Your Career - Guide for Mentees These resources will help you: - Set clearer boundaries without damaging important relationships - Give feedback in a way that builds trust and improves performance - Understand how to get more value from mentoring - Identify the people who can support your development - Build stronger working relationships with partners, peers, clients and your wider team If Support Team is where you need to focus, this section of the Academy will help you stop trying to progress on your own and start building the support, relationships and confidence you need for the next stage of your career. Use code **PODCAST10** for 10% off annual membership. Click here to join [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/]. Books mentioned Poised for Partnership by Heather Townsend - https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life by Heather Townsend and Jo Larbie - https://amzn.to/4iLxugM [https://amzn.to/4iLxugM] Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe [https://howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Plan - Why good intentions will not get you to partner

Only 31% of professionals pursuing partnership have a career plan that is genuinely guiding their progression. Nearly seven in ten are navigating one of the most important career transitions of their lives on good intentions alone, and then wondering why six months have gone by and nothing has moved. This episode covers the third of the 12 key indicators of partnership readiness: Plan. It introduces the two tools that make the difference between intending to progress your career and actually doing it: your ONE BIG FOCUS and your Default Diary. And it addresses the “when”. The perfectly reasonable-sounding reason you haven’t started yet, and why it is costing you more than you think. In this episode you will learn: Why treating your career progression as a client, with allocated time and protected diary slots, will unlock your career progression How the ONE BIG FOCUS approach works to get traction with your career progression and personal development The neuroscience behind small consistent actions work better than trying to do the big things What a Default Diary actually looks like and why only 22% of professionals have one in place, and what the other 78% are losing as a result Take the Partnership Readiness Assessment Free to complete, 15–20 minutes, and gives you a personalised report across all 12 key indicators, including exactly where to focus your first ONE BIG FOCUS. Take the assessment here [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/]. Download the Plan Chapter from Poised for Partnership for free Download here [https://how-to-make-partner.kit.com/chapter-3]. Buy Poised for Partnership To buy a copy of Poised for Partnership, click here [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3]. What help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions? The Progress to Partner Academy is curated by key indicator. If Plan is where you need to focus, you’ll find everything in one place: Inside the Plan indicator, you’ll find practical support to help you turn career progression from something you intend to do into something that actually happens. You’ll find resources to help you build a clear, workable plan, including: • How to Truly Commit to Moving Your Career Forward• Default Diary Planner Exercise• My Perfect Day Exercise• Partner Track Plan template These resources will help you: • Create protected time for your career development• Identify your ONE BIG FOCUS for the next 90 days• Build a career plan you are motivated to follow• Work out what needs to happen weekly, not just eventually• Turn your career goals into consistent action If Plan is where you need to focus, this section of the Academy will help you stop relying on good intentions and start building the habits, structure and clarity that move your career forward. Use code **PODCAST10** for 10% off annual membership. Click here to join [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/]. Books mentioned Poised for Partnership by Heather Townsend - https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life by Heather Townsend and Jo Larbie - https://amzn.to/4iLxugM [https://amzn.to/4iLxugM] Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe [https://howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Direction: The question no one asks before going for partner

Only 44% of professionals pursuing partnership have truly considered whether the partner role is right for them and made an informed decision about it. More than half are moving towards one of the biggest career commitments of their lives without ever properly asking: is this what I actually want? This episode covers the second of the 12 key indicators of partnership readiness: Direction. Using the real story of a lawyer who only discovered the partnership wasn't right for her when a hard choice forced the question, this episode explores what it means to have genuine clarity about your direction, and why getting this wrong is, as one expert puts it, a fate worse than not making partner at all. In this episode you will learn: - Why the culture of professional services firms makes it easy to pursue partnership by default rather than by choice, and the cost of that - What the three components of Direction are (vision, values and purpose) and why you need all three before you can make an informed decision about partner - The realities of the partner role that often come as a surprise, and the question you should be asking yourself about each of them - What due diligence on your firm actually means, and why most people skip it on the day the offer comes through Take the Partnership Readiness Assessment Free to complete, 15–20 minutes, and gives you a personalised report across all 12 key indicators: https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/ [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/] Buy Poised for Partnership - https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] What help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions? The Progress to Partner Academy is curated by key indicator. If Direction is where you need to focus, you'll find everything in one place: Inside the Direction indicator, you’ll find practical support to help you get clear on where you are heading, what matters most now, and how to turn career development into something that actually happens. You’ll find video webinars on: How to get unstuck if you are at a career crossroadsHow to make sure your career development actually happensWhat to do if you’re getting overwhelmed with how to develop your careerWhy goals often don’t work when it comes to progressing your career You’ll also find the course: How to Truly Commit to Moving Your Career Forward This is a foundation course for your career progression. It helps you create the time, space and habits to work on your career consistently, rather than leaving it to chance. Inside the course, you’ll work through how to: Create time each week to focus on your career planBuild a career plan you feel motivated and energised to implementCreate habits that support your progressionSet your first One Big Focus, so you know exactly what to prioritise over the next 90 days This course will also help you get more from the rest of the courses, workbooks, short videos. Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership: https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] Books mentioned Poised for Partnership by Heather Townsend - https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life by Heather Townsend and Jo Larbie - https://amzn.to/4iLxugM [https://amzn.to/4iLxugM] The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles H. Green and Robert Galford - https://amzn.eu/d/057k24Iq [https://amzn.eu/d/057k24Iq]  Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe [https://howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Mindset - The most technically brilliant professionals don’t always make partner.

The most technically brilliant professionals don't always make partner. This episode explores why, through the lens of the first, and most important, of the 12 key indicators of partnership readiness: Mindset. Using the real example of a lawyer with 98.5% utilisation who was asked to wait another year, this episode unpacks the fundamental difference that separates the people who make partner from those who don't. It's not about working harder. It's about understanding what you're actually being assessed on, and adjusting what you are optimising for. In this episode you will learn: Why partnership is not a promotion and what the commercial reality of the partner role actually means for how you spend your time today How the skills that made you a high-performing senior associate or senior manager can actively work against you at this stage, and what to do about it Why only 49% of professionals on the partnership track see their own development as solely their responsibility, and why that gap is costing them time What it looks like to start making business owner decisions before you have the title Take the Partnership Readiness Assessment The best first step. Free to complete, 15–20 minutes, and gives you a personalised report across all 12 key indicators: https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/ [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/partnership-readiness-assessment/] Buy [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3]Poised for Partnership [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] What help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions? The Progress to Partner Academy is curated by key indicator. If Mindset is where you need to focus, you'll find everything in one place: Inside the Mindset indicator, you’ll find practical support to help you think, act and progress like a future partner, including: Courses and game plans on: - How to Truly Commit to Moving Your Career Forward- How to Be on Your A-Game Every Day- How to Put Together a Development Plan to Achieve Your Career Goals Plus guidebooks including: - 10 Critical Lessons You Need to Learn to Make Partner- Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid If You Want to Get Promoted Ahead of Your Peers in a Professional Services Firm You’ll also get access to short video clips from Heather on topics such as: - How to overcome imposter syndrome- Why you don’t have a commercial mindset and how to develop one- How to get noticed as a high-flying manager or associate- How to change your firm’s perception of you when you’re seen as a safe pair of hands And workshop recordings covering: - How to stand out and maximise your chances of becoming senior associate - Creating the space, energy, desire and time to take the step up to partner - How to make sure your career development actually happens - How to develop gravitas and strengthen your executive presence Use code PODCAST10 for 10% off annual membership: https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/ [https://www.howtomakepartner.com/get-progress-to-partner/] Books mentioned: Poised for Partnership by Heather Townsend -https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3 [https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3] How to Make Partner and Still Have a Life by Heather Townsend and Jo Larbie - https://amzn.to/4iLxugM [https://amzn.to/4iLxugM] Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe [https://howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]