The Game Isn’t Over for Associates Who Fall Off the Partner Track

Performance reviews can be unpredictable. Perhaps you learned you’re being managed out of the firm. Maybe you thought you had a chance at partnership only to discover that you no longer have a path.

These conversations may create fear that your career is over, or they may add worry about being able to provide for yourself or your family. As you try to digest this information, you need to determine what to do next.

Here are some strategies associates might adopt when they discover the game—at least with their current team—is over.

Protect Your Values

A career transition, even if unexpected or disappointing, presents an opportunity for reflection around wants, interests, values, and gifts. What values matter to you and why? What gifts do you possess that help you professionally or personally? What interests you?

While you may have been doing a certain type of work for a time, decide whether you’re genuinely interested in that work, or perhaps whether you’re more interested in the financial stability that provides. Figure out whether you want to feel fulfilled with your job—whether you want to ascend the corporate ladder, lead a practice group, or start your own practice.

Connect with people who are doing work that you think you might want to do. What challenges and excites them about their work? This process of information gathering can help you determine the approach you wish to take.

Who we are exists regardless where we work, what our title is, how much money we make, how many direct reports we have, or how large our book of business is or isn’t. Ask yourself these questions: Are you a creative? Are you a motivator? Are you a storyteller? Are you a leader? Are you a team player?

Who you are differs greatly from what happened to you. Consider how you can find ways to tap into who you are through work.

Some people see work simply as an opportunity to pay bills and to lead the life they are used to. Others want to find various ways to leverage who they are at work. What types of roles could you have that would allow you to tap into elements of who you are at a frequency that is satisfying?

Learn the Lessons

Just as athletes need to improve different skills, professionals must also take steps to continually improve. Entering your time more efficiently is one actionable step you can take to enhance your work product. Some people may need to work on time entry because they are entering their time days or weeks later, which creates delays in requesting payments from the clients and complicates the lives of partners. Substantive work is valuable to the firm along with efficient time entry.

Prioritizing your health is another great step toward enhancing your work. When you improve your quality of life, other benefits follow. This might involve therapy, coaching, working out with a trainer, going to a place of worship, or spending quality time with friends and family.

Establish trust quickly with key stakeholders and strive to become indispensable. When we’re upset, fearful, or ashamed, it’s easy to miss a lesson. However, when we face ourselves head-on and learn from our past, we can expedite our growth.

Like an athlete who reviews the video of their most recent game, identify the areas where you thrived and were successful, and pinpoint the areas in need of improvement. You may want to consider working with an executive career coach, increasing your knowledge in a particular area, meeting with mentors, or shadowing people you admire.

Control the Controllables

While you can’t control that the game is over, you can control how you choose to handle yourself during defeat. You control how you leave the game/job opportunity and how vigilantly you pursue other opportunities.

You also control whether you leverage your network for support and whether take your personal time to identify and learn the lessons from your experience. In other words, you control how you respond.

When facing a challenge, it can be easy to give up even if there are necessary steps to maintaining or strengthening our well-being physically, emotionally, psychologically, and professionally. However, these are the precise moments when we must arm ourselves with helpful supports and productive behaviors to propel us in the right direction.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Rachel W. Patterson is a senior talent manager for DEI at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employer or its clients.

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