Wow, what an amazing questions. 

So I'll share with you 1 personal observation, 1 article and 1 piece of advice. 

Personal observation. 

I spent 5 y in McK. If I learned one thing about what it takes to have a long-standing career in consulting, is that it's a lot more about finding sustainability rather than brilliance. Most of those who make Partner are those who retain a long-term perspective on the job and don't rush to make the next promotion as early as possible, burning themselves out in the process. They tend to be people who focus on developing expertise in certain areas and who have a knack for working with clients and maintaining relationships. 

Article. 

• Expert Guide: How to Become A Distinctive Consultant

In the link above, I synthesized some of my learnings from when I started in consulting and what it takes to be successful. Hope these will help accelerate your path. 

Piece of advice.

Ask this exact question from a LOT of people. Ideally, Partners and Senior Partners. Write down the main takeaways. Look for Partners. Those you vibe with you should enlist as supporters and mentors. 

Good luck and I wish you an amazing ride!
Best,
Cristian

You have asked the million dollar question! (or more accurately, "million dollar / year" question). 

There is no simple answer, people devote years of work hours to figure it out and everyone's journey is different. Some take a straight shot from A to P, some need to make a few careful maneuvers on the way. My journey has been the latter due to various reasons.

Once you start your career, you will notice that partners have a mix of different skills, capabilities and expertise and leverage different strengths to be where they are. Some general advice for a starter:

1) It is a marathon, not a sprint. You will need to plan short term to go up the ranks but always keep an eye on the long term. Have a specific goal and visualize it. For instance, as long as possible isn't the same goal as making partner. Your choice of words here will influence the outcome. 

2) Find a good mentor/coach right away and start working with them weekly. It is an apprenticeship business. Ideally you have one in house and one outside. It is like having a board of directors for the business of you. Getting advice from people who haven't made it there isn't the best use of your time. 

3) Be ready for change - You will be surprised how different the job function of a partner is compared to the consultant when you make it. 

Best of luck!

Hi there,

As a partner-to-be, you are not evaluated on trivial things such as your Excel skills. You are evaluated based on the value you can bring to your firm through managing existing client relationships and building new ones. 

You need a platform, that consists of

• recognized areas of expertise (industry or function) → where do you add value to your clients and how?
• a large number of partner colleagues knowing you and your work → do you have the necessary support in the firm to be elected partner?
• several strong client relationships as well as the ability to develop new clients → can you generate consistent business for your firm?
• going the extra mile outside of client-facing situations → how do you add value to your firm with knowledge development, organizational things, and leadership involvement?

In short, you need to wear many hats and be resilient because you will always work and are expected to give your everything before becoming a partner. To be honest, for most, it is not worth it!

All the best,

Florian 

Hi,

Partner is a long way from where you are. I assume that you are joining at a Consultant or Post-MBA equivalent role. 

Sharing my POV having gone through the ranks, and having left as a Principal (after having considered path to partnership). 

There is much to say about this and I could go into alot of detail and nuance, but you need to understand the path to partnership in 2 parts 

1. Surviving the consultant role (A/C up till Principal year 2) 
2. Building your platform to become a partner (from Principal year 2 to equity partner)

To get to #2, you need to have gone through and survived #1. And that in itself is not an easy feat. The skill sets needed for #1 really focuses more on project delivery and execution, but once you get to #2, it's really a different ball game. 

Right now, you should really focus on #1 first, make Principal 1 and then you will still have time to worry about how to get to Partner. 

Happy to have a more detailed chat - just drop me a dm. 

You'll have to develop the complete consulting toolkit. So before thinking about becoming a partner, you have to become a good analyst, then a good consultant, then a good project manager, then a good principal, and finally a partner. 

You don't become a good partner without being decent at the previous level. So start by becoming a good analyst and consultant before anything else.

Hey,

With each consecutive grade your soft skills matter more than your hard skills. Therefore, to make partner, you'll not only have to excel as a consultant and a project leader, but have an ability to develop a vast network of clients to bring in revenue streams for the firm. Also, networking (people) skills and luck play a ton in this.

Nonetheless, making partner is not for everyone and you'll better understand if this track is for you and if you've got what it takes a few years down the line.

Good luck!
Nick