Hi I'm Heather Townsend. My weekly email tips will help you learn what you need to do to get noticed as "one to watch" in your firm (Hint, it's nothing to do with your billing). Join the 3000+ lawyers, accountants and consultants who are learning how to make partner. I am the author of 6 books including Poised For Partnership, How to make partner and still have a life, The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking and The Go-To Expert.
How to Make Partner - Office Politics, a Survival Guide
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Hi Reader How's your week been? What's going on in the office at the moment? It's so true that if you are want to get promoted in your firm you need to be able to navigate and survive your firm’s politics! Every professional service firm has its own ways of doing things and it's own special brand of internal office politics. Do you really know what are the the most effective ways to get things done appropriately in your firm? If not, start looking around and observing what is going on around you. People who are politically savvy pick their time, pace, style, tone and tactics based upon an evaluation of what would work best in each situation. Here are 5 ways that you too can become politically savvy in your firm
Who are the gatekeepers who control the flow of resources, information, and decisions? Who are the guides and the helpers? If you don’t already know, find out who they are and get to know them. Remember, they may not be a partner or even have an imposing job title. Caveat - Remember that everyone has a mixed bag of behaviours, and if you want to navigate and survive your firm’s politics, keep any ‘labels’ you have for people in your firm to yourself. Which leads nicely on to...: 2. Avoid gossiping or supplying information to the firm’s grapevine People quickly find out what you have said about them, and that includes gossip. It can be very easy to get burnt by sharing private views with others in the wrong setting and with the wrong people. If you choose to gossip and pass on stories, it may limit your career progression in your firm. 3. Be extremely careful when dealing with highly influential partners Very often these partners have large egos and can be very sensitive, often because they are managing highly tense situations behind the scenes. There isn’t usually a second chance to make a good first impression with these people in your firm so be aware of your actions and words and be very careful that you are acting in ways that could be seen as showing poor political judgment. Be prepared with what you want to say to them and don’t waste their time; if they have given you ten minutes then keep to time or, better still, finish ahead of time. 4. Treat everyone as individuals, and with respect Everyone in your firm requires special consideration and treatment. What may work with one person may annoy another, so you need to learn to read people. Relationships that work in a firm are ones where there is mutual respect – both for each other and particularly in a professional partnership, for what each other has achieved. It’s all part of navigating and surviving your firm's politics! 5. Exercise self-control before saying what's really on your mind Often people get themselves into political trouble by being too candid and annoying influential people. While saying what you want to say and to hell with the consequences may make you feel good, it would fail the political savvy test. You need to weigh-up each situation on the candour scale. Are the right people here? Is this really the best time to speak my mind? Should I let someone else start before I pitch-in? Did the speaker who asked for candour really mean it, or could this be a career-limiting conversation? Listen: to my 9 minute podcast on surviving your firm's politics Substack Apple Spotify FREE LIVE WEBINAR ON 1 APRIL Being known as a safe pair of hands can quietly stall your career. Not because partners don’t rate you, but because that label doesn’t always signal progression, leadership, or future potential. It's all about how to become more politically savvy so you can thrive in your firm. Click here to find out more and save your place Have a good week! Heather PS What's your partner ready score? Take my Partnership Readiness Assessment this weekend - get started here. Heather Townsend Author (Poised for Partnership, the Financial Times Guide to Business Networking) Co-author How to Make Partner (and Still Have A Life) The leading global expert in what it takes to move from senior fee earner to partner, and when you get there, stay there. Founder of Progress to Partner Academy |
How to Make Partner from Heather Townsend
Hi I'm Heather Townsend. My weekly email tips will help you learn what you need to do to get noticed as "one to watch" in your firm (Hint, it's nothing to do with your billing). Join the 3000+ lawyers, accountants and consultants who are learning how to make partner. I am the author of 6 books including Poised For Partnership, How to make partner and still have a life, The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking and The Go-To Expert.
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