To Say Yes or No? How to be seen as a good firm citizen without burning out

Picture this: You're on the partnership track. Your partners want to see you being a good firm citizen - getting involved in office initiatives, social mobility programs, pro bono work, workplace culture activities. So you say yes. You say yes again. And again.But now you're stretched thin. Your utilisation is suffering. You're working longer hours just to keep up with your chargeable work. And you've got six non-chargeable responsibilities when you probably only have capacity for two.How do you have the conversation to drop some of these responsibilities without partners thinking you're selfish or not committed to the firm? This is one of the biggest bear traps for professionals on the partnership track - and today, we're going to solve it.In this episode you will learn:- Why partners actually have conflicting views on firm citizenship (and how to navigate what this means for you)- The exact conversation framework to use when you need to drop commitments without triggering the "not a firm citizen" response- How to assess which firm citizenship activities are strategically valuable versus dead-end time sinks- Why going to the wrong person first about dropping responsibilities can backfire politically - and who to approach insteadWhat help is out there for you to progress your career in the professions?If you're thinking, 'I get the theory, but I need more help managing my time better so I can do both chargeable work and firm citizenship well', our Progress To Partner Academy can help you.That's precisely why we have a suite of courses in the Progress to Partner Academy to help you with this. For example, our course 'How to Make Time for Business Development' gives you practical frameworks for managing competing priorities and having the right conversations about your workload. And we have great videos on navigating politics and learning how to gracefully say no to partners.If you find this episode useful, don't forget to like it and then subscribe so you don't miss another episode.Join our Progress To Partner Academy - https://subscribe.howtomakepartner.com/progresstopartner/ and use the code PODCAST10 to get 10% off 12 months of premium annual membership.Links:Complete our FREE Partnership Readiness Assessment - https://careerprogressionreadiness.scoreapp.com to see where you have gaps in your own development - you'll get a personalised report with actions for what progress your career forwardConnect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathertownsend/Join our Progress To Partner Academy - https://subscribe.howtomakepartner.com/progresstopartner/ and use the code PODCAST10 to get 10% off 12 months of premium annual membership.Buy your copy of Poised for Partnership - https://amzn.to/3ETEYk3Buy your copy of How To Make Partner And Still Have A Life - https://amzn.to/4iLxugMBuy your copy of The Go To Expert - https://amzn.to/3HGPYlPBuy your copy of The Financial Times Guide To Business Networking - https://amzn.to/406QPma Get full access to How to Make Partner at howtomakepartner.substack.com/subscribe