Purpose: To ensure that new partners are equipped with the support and challenge needed to make this key transition.

Experience and scope: Often a programme of six 90-minute sessions, using the new partner’s aims and the firm’s strategy to form the agenda. Working on the opportunities and challenges the partner is facing in ‘real time’. Programmes have been undertaken with new partners in Magic Circle law firms, ‘big four’ accounting firms and other professional service firms internationally.

Themes: The following themes have emerged as recommended topics on the coaching programme:

• External support and challenge as the infrastructure of the partnership process falls away. This is a point in their careers when partners often feel very alone and yet reluctant to reach out to people internally as they feel they should be able to do what they planned without support.
• Practical support and challenge as the business case for partnership turns from an aspirational plan into practical action.
• Support as their role within the team changes to one of leadership and new alliances are made within the partnership.
• Work on confidence and imposter syndrome.
• An external view as they learn to navigate the politics within the partnership.
• Working smarter not harder, and resilience.

Purpose: Ensuring the coachee is achieving their potential and (where relevant) presenting themselves as the best candidate for partnership that they can be so that the firm is able to see the full potential of its emerging talent.

Experience and scope: Often a programme of six 90-minute coaching sessions with the first and last sessions working with the coachee and their sponsor to ensure that this relationship is working alongside the coaching. Our experience is wide ranging across Magic Circle law firms, the ‘big four’ accounting firms and many other professional service firms internationally.

Themes: The following themes have emerged as recommended topics on the coaching programme:

• Ensuring that the coachee has an effective and engaged development network of sponsors and mentors around them and that they are using role models effectively.
• Ensuring that the coachee has their ‘head up’ and is thinking commercially about the work that they are doing and the opportunities in the market so that they are creating a business case showing what they could add to the partnership.
• Support as their role within the team changes to one of leadership and new alliances are made within the partnership.
• Working with the coachee and their sponsor to ensure that they are working on the matters that will give them the experience so that they can take advantage of the opportunities in the market.
• Working with the coachee to ensure that they are building a team around them so that they can step up to a more senior role and realise their potential at this level.
• Ensuring the coachee is building the network of partners that they will need to support them in their ambitions and in their future as a leader of the business.
• Working smarter not harder, and resilience.

Purpose:To provide support to female Senior Managers, Senior Associates, Counsel and Directors as they progress towards partnership working on key challenges at both personal and organisational levels. Overall goal to improve retention and increase the number of female partners.

Experience and scope: Coaching provided annually to 150-200 senior women across the EMEIA region. Up to three sessions of 90 minutes each. Annual themes report (anonymous) provided to client. (Programme in its third year).

Themes: The following themes have emerged as recommended topics on the coaching programme:

• Maintaining a focus on driving their career (particularly during the pandemic).
• The difficulty of networking virtually.
• Mental health and wellbeing.
• To become effective partners - helping the women shift from task orientation to taking on the role of leader.
• Ensuring the sponsor role is effective.
• Providing support to help development in a male environment.
• Helping women develop their business.
• Helping women make informed decisions when deciding whether or not to leave the firm.

Purpose: To establish helpful habits in the early years of a professional’s career so that they are able to achieve their potential throughout their career.

Experience and scope: The feedback from this work indicates that it has made a huge difference to new graduates, particularly women, those from a minority ethnic background and those whose families do not bring experience of working in a professional service firm. In addition to our extensive work with women in professional service firms we have run programmes for those from a minority ethnic and social movement population for two magic circle law firms.

Themes: The following themes have emerged as recommended topics on the coaching programme:

• Ensuring that they understand the power of an engaged and active development network, including mentors, sponsors and role models and how to identify them.
• Helping them engage and grow their existing network within the firm and outside it.
• Working to improve their confidence and combat the imposter syndrome.
• Helping them manage the impression they give to others so that those others are aware of all that they bring to the firm.
• Working on time management so that good habits are there from the start and there is less risk of burnout.
• Working smarter not harder, and resilience.

Purpose: To ensure that firms are aware of the broadest range of talent when leadership appointments are made.

Experience and scope: Working with partners to think more widely about the leadership roles that are available in the firm and how they might take up one of these roles. Often a programme of six 90-minute sessions flexed around the coachee’s key events to give them support and challenge when needed.

Themes: The following themes have emerged as recommended topics on the coaching programme:

• Raising awareness of the leadership roles available.
• Raising awareness of the politics within the partnership and what the levers are to achieve success in a leadership role in a partnership.
• Working to improve their confidence and combat the imposter syndrome.
• Creating a practical strategy to achieve that vision and which supports the firms wider aims and culture.
• Working on the communication that will be needed to bring their fellow partners with them and gain real buy-in.
• Dealing with difficult relationships within the team or outside it.
• Working smarter not harder, and resilience.