Are you deluding yourself into thinking that you’ll receive an offer of partnership as a reward for a job well done? If so, it’s time to change your thinking. Quickly. The days of becoming a partner simply because you’ve survived longer than anyone else are over. It’s simply not enough to be a great lawyer, a great thinker or a great technician. You’ve got to have something else to offer.

I recently had lunch with an old law school friend who is a partner at a mid-size law firm. He was understandably frustrated by a situation presented by one of his associates: she’s smart, hard-working and a good person, he told me. She wants to make partner, but she just hasn’t made the jump from thinking and acting like an associate to thinking and acting like a partner.

What does that mean? How can you avoid falling into the trap of not getting the job because you don’t “seem” like a partner? It’s not just a matter of appearances, although that’s definitely part of it. The job description you want is fundamentally different from the job you have now, and you need to make it clear that you have evolved into the new position, that you’re prepared to step into “partner shoes.”

Are You Partner Material? In addition to the obvious basics – being smart, hardworking and an excellent attorney – there are 5 key competencies an associate must exhibit to be considered partner material.

One. Be a Decision Maker. Start making decisions appropriate to your position. If you’re too insecure to make choices and determinations without constantly running to someone else for approval, you may not be ready to be in charge. If you don’t have confidence in your abilities, no one else will either. You might be a superstar junior or mid-level associate, but if you want to move up the ranks, you need to demonstrate leadership ability. It’s pretty simple. Would you give a seat at the owners’ table to someone who appears nervous or equivocal about getting the job done right?

Neither will anyone else.

Two. Be a Delegator. If you’re lucky enough to have someone to whom you can delegate work, by all means, do it. Partners and managers oversee complex projects and delegate work to junior people. When you keep saying “if I want it to be done right, I have to do it myself,” you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Senior attorneys who are climbing the ladder of success are not sitting up late at night proofreading, correcting typos, or doing document production, basic research or simple drafting. If you are a senior associate and you’re still doing that, you’re not making the jump. Delegating doesn’t mean abdicating; you’ve got to delegate to the right person, follow up, demand accountability, and make sure the job is done right. That’s what the boss does.

Three. Think Like an Owner, Not an Employee. Although we’ve been trained to think a law firm is more like an genteel country club than a bricks and mortar business that needs clients and positive cash flow to survive, the latter is the hard truth. Partners need to understand the business of the law firm and do what it takes to ensure its financial success. Demonstrating an understanding of the economics of each case and transaction and how it impacts the firm’s finances is critical to being seen as a future member of the firm.

Four. Be an Ambassador. The lawyers who sit at their desks churning out the work, eating take-out and turning out the lights every night are not always the ones who wind up owning the place. Hard work and dedication are a given, but you’ve got to get out of the office too. Be visible in the community, both in legal circles and the larger community in which you live. Give lectures, attend fundraisers, do volunteer work, establish yourself as a leading authority in your field, and let everyone know who you work for.

Good publicity for the firm is good publicity for you, and vice versa.

Five. Create a Network of Business Relationships. This is the tough one, isn’t it? When we graduate from law school, no one reminds us to maintain the network of friends and colleagues we’ve already developed, and they certainly don’t encourage us to develop our own networks. Many attorneys complain that they spend the early years putting those proverbial noses to the grindstone, only to emerge from a fog several years later to discover that they are expected to have magically developed a book of business. So, let me be the one to say it: you need to develop your own network of friends and colleagues. Any marketing professional will tell you that people do business with those they know, like and trust. Those with whom you have developed relationships will come to you, not a stranger, when they need legal expertise.

The skills that are serving you so well now are different from those you will require as you become more senior, whether you become a partner of your firm or move into another leadership position. Corporate managers have often said that ambitious employees are wise to dress for the job they want, not the job they have. Similarly, you can prepare now for partnership by developing and exhibiting the high-level skills required for that position. By the time it’s your turn to be considered for partnership, all the ducks will be quacking in your favor.

Well, no, not necessarily.  Each of us has his or her own definition of success. It doesn’t matter much what your definition of success is, but it matters a great deal that you actually have defined it for yourself.  Why?  Because if you don’t know what you want, you’re not going to get it.

Maybe for you, it is making a lot of money, making partner, hanging out your shingle, arguing a case before the Supreme Court.  Great, why not?  Perhaps you want to do cutting-edge work, make new law, meet interesting people, or do meaningful pro bono work.

How about writing a book, singing in a choir or running a 5K?  Too lofty?  It could be as simple as making sure you’re home every night to eat dinner with your spouse, the kids and the hamster.  Whatever.  What’s important is giving it some thought and making sure you’re headed in the right direction.  What matters is making sure you’re living a life of your own design, not a life designed by default.

Give it some thought and, while you’re at it, keep a few things in mind.  Your goals don’t have to be grandiose.  They don’t have to be set in stone; they can (and undoubtedly will) change over time.  If you’re not sure what you want in a certain area of your life, start by deciding what you don’t want and go from there.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t base your definition of success on what the neighbors think or what your parents want or the age-old “why can’t you be more like your sister?”  This time, it’s all about you.