Creating Clear Development Pathways
The Challenge
Partners and managers had no shared framework for developing talent, leading to inconsistent advancement and high turnover. Promotion decisions felt subjective. Development conversations varied wildly based on who your manager was. High performers left because they could not see a clear path forward. The firm talked about talent development but had no infrastructure to make it real.
The Approach
Here is how we installed leadership infrastructure:
Created leadership infrastructure that defined expectations at each level with observable behaviors
Installed accountability conversations as standard practice with clear templates
Built development into the weekly rhythm so it was not an annual event
Connected advancement criteria to demonstrated behaviors, not tenure or billable hours
The Results
Promotion decisions became clearer with documented behavior evidence
Development conversations became consistent across the firm
Emerging leaders stayed longer because they could see the path forward
Partners spent less time on retention conversations and more on development
"The infrastructure gave us a common way to develop people. Now every manager knows what good looks like and how to get there."
Managing Partner
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