Who Shouldn’t Be a Partner?

Businessman with hand extended in "no" gestureFive red flags.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

There are two sides to every discussion. I may have made it seem as if you’d have to be a fool not to want to be a partner. But being a partner isn’t for everybody. The reasons listed below exclude issues not germane to this discussion, such as a desire to change careers, opportunities to join one’s family business or boredom with accounting.

MORE: Nine Reasons People Are Promoted to Partner | How to Make Partner?
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Long hours. At most firms, when the staff leave, the partners are still working. Some feel it sends a negative message to the staff because it implies that there is an expectation for partners to work long hours and therefore make it difficult to enjoy a healthy work-life balance. Rosenberg MAP survey metrics corroborate this: Partners average around 2,410 total work hours but the staff average is 2,280, a difference of 130 overtime hours.