To be frank, there are too many professionals in practice right now who just assume they want to make partner. Not for any well-thought out reason. More because they have been swept along by a culture where everyone presumes everyone else wants to make partner. Does that sound familiar?

After all, you joined your firm because you were bright, talented and ambitious. So surely, you should go for partner. Anything else would be a waste of your talents. Who wouldn't want the status, confidence and financial rewards which come with making partner?

No, no, no, no… this type of all-pervading (and often lazy) thinking in law, accountancy and consultancy can often trap someone into a job they hate. But due to the financial commitments they have taken on, they can't see a way out and end up spending 30+ years in a job they at best tolerate. After all, what other business sector pays its graduates as well as the prestigious professional service firms around the world?

If you are going to go for partner, go for the right reasons. These being, you will be fulfilled in the partner role and enjoy the extra responsibilities that come with it. Plus the firm in which you make partner helps you be at your best. Now, I hear you thinking, "but what if I don't know if I will like it until I do it?" and that's a valid question. To answer it, you need to understand your Direction, i.e. what makes you tick and what you stand for so that you can make an informed decision that partnership is right for you.

What makes you tick is typically a combination of 3 elements:

• Vision or Your Direction: What you want to achieve in your life time
• Values: The rules or principles that you choose to live your life by
• Purpose or 'Your Why': Your reason for being