In my years of working with CPA firms on talent development, few topics are as cloaked in mystery as “the path to partner.” Now, that’s not to say that some firms haven’t mapped the path out and shared it with their high potential staff. But, even then, the “map” itself has often been protected.

The reasons for keeping the path to partner so secretive (or not having one mapped out at all) vary, but one thing is for sure: It’s a problem for firms, particularly those facing talent shortages. Let me repeat that: It’s a problem for you. Your people want to know what their career potential is and how they’ll develop and grow with you. That’s not to say that everyone who goes into public accounting wants to make partner. We know that’s not the case. However, we also know that most people want to at least know what’s expected of them to advance in their careers, roles, or firms. They also typically want to be seen as valued contributors and be recognized for their accomplishments. Yet, despite this desire, they’re often left to fend for themselves when it comes to the specific steps they need to take to develop and advance.

Of course, there are some fantastic mentors, coaches, and leaders in our profession. Staff and associates who are lucky enough to have a personal mentor or coach in their lives probably have much more clarity as to what goes into successful advancement. But let’s stop for a minute and think about those who don’t have these amazing people to look to for guidance. Those are the ones who need the most help and they’re less likely to have clarity on their paths forward.

Notably, creating career paths is no easy task. It takes planning, research, external input, and internal feedback. First and foremost, if you’re trying to create a one-size-fits-all path for your staff, you can forget it. You need to build paths with flexibility in mind. Every single one of your people will follow a slightly different path based upon a combination of their personal and professional skills, ambition, and external circumstances. But that doesn’t excuse the need to give them direction.

So, where should you start? Consider who you have already and how they got there. Do you have a model partner right down the hall? Are there certain aspects of their personal and professional development you can extrapolate to help map out a model?

When developing your firm’s career path model, here are four things to consider:

1. Timeline and stages: How long does it take to reach the top, and how long is each stage or step along the way? What are the common ranges?
2. Technical skills and competencies: What skills are necessary at each level? You may need to have a healthy conversation to separate the “need-to-haves” from the “nice-to-haves.” Also, what nonnegotiable core competencies are required to achieve each level? For example, will you seek a specialization from a rising star or permit them to be a generalist?
3. Success skills (aka soft skills): Communication, relationship development, people development, client development, and business development are all generally required to earn a promotion to a senior leadership position. However, we rarely see these success skills rated on a proficiency scale. It’s important to consider and account for these variables and plan development around them.
4. Emotional intelligence (EQ): This is self-awareness and social awareness plus self-management and relationship management. While some would group EQ into success skills, I believe it’s critically important to be categorized separately. While highly rewarding, our profession can be stressful and challenging at times. Demonstrating EQ is important within the leadership and partner ranks and working to develop this skill is a sign of a future-focused leader.

How do you fit all of this into just one model? It’s hard, and that may explain the lack of defined career paths at our firms. But what if one high potential rising star stayed with your firm and made it to partner because of your efforts? Would it be worth it? Given the challenging talent market in accounting today, I think we’d all say yes.

Importantly, this doesn’t have to be an effort concentrated only among the busiest people at the firm (i.e., partners and/or managing partners). Career path development can be a collaborative effort with input from all levels. In addition to lightening the load on everyone involved, this approach can bring valuable perspective to everyone at your firm, regardless of level or career stage.

However you choose to create a career path model, it’s time to make it a top priority. As I mentioned earlier, your people want to know where they can go and how they can get there as part of your firm. You might even hear this question from college students who have yet to enter the workforce who are interviewing with you for internships or their first jobs. Don’t let the lack of mapped out career paths at your firm be a reason someone leaves or loses interest in starting their career journey with you. Create your career paths and have them be the reason someone joins your firm, stays long term, and ultimately makes partner.

Learn more about Art Kuesel and Kuesel Consulting at www.kueselconsulting.com.

Reprinted courtesy of Insight, the magazine of the Illinois CPA Society.