Overview
Developing the skills needed for Senior Managers is essential. Some essential skills and behaviours are necessary to effectively fill the role. Whether a Senior manager goes on to take up a Partner role or not, they are essential to the success of the firm. They are role models for more junior staff, they are very visible to clients. Relied on by the Partners, needed to train the next generation of accountants, and responsible for the planning and delivery of high-quality work. In addition, the demands on them are great, complex, and varied.
Unfortunately, many will have been promoted for demonstrating technical expertise and some relationship skills. However, they often do not yet possess the key skills and behaviours required to be an effective leader of people or a credible ambassador for the firm.
This programme will ensure that participants have the opportunity to develop and refine their core skills and behaviours through a mix of input. Using group discussion, role-play of ‘real’ situations and realistic scenarios to debate. Woven into the programme is an understanding of the dynamics of a professional services Partnership-based environment. With the need to manage both the internal and external environment and to ensure individual progression and maximise service delivery.
Using a structured set of modules and guided coaching, the programme equips participants with the core attributes for leadership success in professional services. Providing tools and techniques that are practical, relevant and actionable. At the end of the programme, participants will learn the fundamentals of professional services leadership. From the unique role of a Partner in representing the firm, to building cohesive and effective teams, as well as the behaviours that will make them stand out as a future Partner. Each Path to Partner programme is designed to align with our clients’ strategic plans and culture. Helping them to offer an effective career pathway for future business leaders and Partners that exemplifies the firm’s brand, embodies its culture and ensures an enduring legacy.
In three decades of work with professional services firms, we have consistently found the best results are achieved by identifying talented people and getting them on leadership programmes at the earliest opportunity. This means that participants can see a clear career path and firms can ensure a longer-term tenure of the best talent.
Firms choose the Path to Partner programme because the transition from a technical expert to a senior leader is one of the most critical stages in a professional services career. Senior Managers play a pivotal role in the firm’s success, as they are responsible for leading teams, delivering high-quality client work, developing junior talent, and supporting Partners. However, many reach this level without formal preparation for the leadership demands of the role.
This programme equips participants with the practical skills, behaviours, and mindset needed to thrive in a partnership environment, helping firms strengthen their leadership pipeline, develop credible future Partners, and ensure the long-term success of the firm.
“I feel that I am learning so much that I can apply, I wish I had attended this programme earlier in my career.”
Professional Services
L&D Manager
Sales Professionals, Bid Directors, Pre-sales Consultants, Sales, Business Development, Client Support, Account Managers, Strategists, Advisors, New Entrant, Analyst, Consultant, Manager, Senior Manager, Principal, VP, Director.
- Face-to-face
- Virtual
Learning impact
During the programme, participants learn to:
- Lead people and teams effectively, moving beyond technical expertise to build the leadership behaviours required of Senior Managers.
- Strengthen credibility with clients, partners, and colleagues, acting as a visible role model and trusted representative of the firm.
- Build and develop high-performing teams, while ensuring the planning and delivery of high-quality client work.
If you would like to find out how the Path to Partner programme can help your high potentials make an impactful transition to leadership.
Programme Stats
728
Senior Managers have graduated from the Path to Partner programme
100%
Recommended by Principals and VPs in consulting
Average 4.6 out of 5
Relevance to role
Hear from a Programme Leader
“In professional services and internal consulting roles, the competences required to deliver a good performance are quite complex and can be quite technically specific, so often earlier in your career, there is a very big focus on those. Then one day it all changes: the parameters change and something quite different is expected. Many people are promoted on their competence and their technical ability and then one day they’re required to managed a team. They’re also required to have a whole different behaviour set in terms of how they manage and handle themselves, and they’ve never been trained to do that.” – Debbie Dudley, Director
Client stories
“The programme has opened up debates and conversations which previously would never have taken place about how we work, about how we lead and how we are led.”
Management Consulting
Senior Manager
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