Last month, we explored three key areas of communication we identified through our first-ever 2025 New Partner Experience Survey that make all the difference in supporting our profession’s newly promoted Partners:

  • Goal Setting
  • Feedback
  • Compensation

In the early stages of a public accounting career, success is often shaped by external milestones and competency frameworks, but once you become a Partner, the rules shift, and so does the responsibility for defining what success looks like. Success is no longer about checking the next box, it’s about leading with intention, and defining what matters most from the inside out.

This month, we’re diving deeper into the three key areas of communication by exploring these questions:

🗯️ Q: As a New Partner, who defines success now: you or your firm?

🔥 A: The answer is: both, but it starts with you.

In the early stages of a public accounting career, success is often shaped by external milestones and competency frameworks, but once you become a Partner, the rules shift, and so does the responsibility for defining what success looks like.

Our 2025 New Partner Experience Survey revealed that Partners who set formal, self-authored goals report significantly higher levels of confidence, effectiveness, and transition success.

Why? Because these goals are no longer just about meeting expectations, they are about becoming the kind of leader you want to be.

We know the power of goal-setting in this transformative time in your career and we’ve created a process to support New Partners during this transition – our Personal Partner Success Plan. This structured, year-long process is designed to help New Partners move from externally driven achievement to internally aligned leadership. It starts by asking the bigger questions:

💬 “What kind of leader do I want to become?”
💬 “How do I define my own success now?”

From there, we help Partners:
✔ Define clear one-year goals that support their vision
✔ Build quarterly action plans to drive progress
✔ Identify the resources they need for support
✔ Establish habits of resilience and accountability
✔ Integrate personal goals with firm priorities

When Partners take ownership of their growth through meaningful, measurable goals, they regain the clarity and agency that propelled them toward Partnership in the first place.

Success is no longer about checking the next box, it’s about leading with intention, and defining what matters most from the inside out.

❓ Q: Nearly half of New Partners say they don’t get enough feedback. Why?

💡 A: Because after making Partner, the feedback loop often disappears. But we have a solution…

According to our 2025 New Partner Experience Survey, 46% of New Partners said the feedback they receive is not enough. This makes sense. As managers, they had clear goals and regular check-ins. But as New Partners, those feedback structures often diminish or even vanish altogether.

And yet, this is when feedback is needed most.

At the Partner level, leaders face higher expectations, more strategic complexity, and often more internal pressure. Without feedback, it’s easy to feel disconnected or unsure. But feedback at this stage isn’t about correction, it’s about connection.

When linked to self-defined goals, feedback becomes:

✅ A tool for accountability
✅ A source of clarity
✅ A catalyst for trust and team cohesion

We encourage New Partners to take the lead in rebuilding the feedback loop, even if their firm hasn’t formalized it. That might look like:

🔹 Sharing leadership goals with their team and asking for feedback
🔹 Seeking regular mentorship and input from Senior Partners
🔹 Connecting feedback to their personal development journey

Firms can support this by offering more structured touchpoints, but even in the absence of formal systems, New Partners can create the kind of feedback culture they want to thrive in.

➡️ Q: The financial reality of becoming a Partner is often more ambiguous than expected. What can a New Partner do about the ambiguity of compensation in the transition to Partner?

📣 A: Stay curious, and continue to ask questions, even when it’s uncomfortable, or the answers aren’t as straightforward as you would like.

Many firms wait to disclose the full picture until after the promotion is official, and even then, the information may be complex or unclear.

Our survey revealed that this lack of transparency creates real stress for New Partners. Common gaps include:

  • Understanding base salary vs. bonuses
  • Navigating multiple changes in pay structure
  • Equity buy-ins and profit distributions
  • Tax implications and financial planning needs

The result? Many New Partners feel blindsided, even disillusioned, when expectations don’t match reality.

Our advice?

✅ Ask early, before making Partner. Even if answers are vague, the questions matter.
✅ Be open about your needs and motivators.
✅ Find a trusted Partner mentor to help you navigate the ambiguity.
✅ Approach the conversation with curiosity, not just expectation.
✅ Keep the dialogue going.

This is a long conversation, not a quick, single-answer solution. Compensation shouldn’t be a mystery. And while it may evolve over time, the dialogue should remain open and honest. The more we normalize transparent conversations about money, the more trust and clarity we build in our leadership pipelines.

See you in the DOP,