Coaching the Proving Ground: Why Non-Equity Leaders Deserve Real Investment
By Mitchell Schuckman, PCC | Executive Coach + Founder, The Schuckman Group LLC
Some of the most promising leaders in professional services firms aren’t quite full-blown equity partners yet, but they’re already in the pressure cooker. They’re expected to lead teams, grow clients, and prove they’re ready for more with little support and even less feedback.
Rising Stars Need Coaching—Fast
Non-equity partner roles aren’t just a law firm thing anymore. Many mid-sized and large accounting and consulting firms now use similar titles to designate high-potential leaders who haven’t yet taken on an equity partner role. It’s become the proving ground for those expected to lead the firm into the next generation.
In the legal profession, 86 of the Am Law 100 now have non-equity tiers. Thirty years ago, it was under 30. These roles give rising leaders three to five years to demonstrate they can build relationships, lead teams, and grow the business. Some make it. Some don’t. The difference often comes down to how well they’re coached.
Because most firms don’t just want senior doers. They need future owners.
Coaching in Action
I’ve coached dozens of these leaders. Newly promoted partners, managing directors, non-equity principals across law, consulting, and accounting firms. All in that make-or-break zone between good client service, technical excellence, and true firm leadership.
This isn’t classroom work. This is direct, one-on-one coaching tied to their live book of business, their internal influence, their ability to show up like a leader and get others to follow. We document what they’re doing, help them test new approaches, and build confidence and muscle memory in the real world. We look at their client relationships, business development activity, leadership presence, and longer-term career goals all in one connected coaching journey.
Start with the clients they already have. We dig into two or three live client relationships: What’s working? What’s underdeveloped? Who do they have credibility with, and who barely knows their name? We review emails, follow ups, and meeting invites. We role play smarter client conversations, explore value adds, and test real ideas. Small things like a well-timed insight or a check in can shift how the client sees them, and we observe how that shift opens doors.
Build BD habits they can actually stick to. Most of them think business development means chasing RFPs or becoming someone they’re not. So we show them what it actually is: consistent, helpful value-creating visibility. We co-develop activity goals like CRM touches, client catch ups, short-form LinkedIn content, value nudges that work within their style. It’s not about being louder. It’s about being useful. And showing up.
Help them lead without waiting to be crowned. Leadership isn’t a title. It’s how you show up. Coaching helps them notice when they’re already leading on a team call, in a mentoring moment, in a client discussion, and it helps them own it. They start raising their hands. Offering ideas. Bringing others along. Ultimately, people start treating them differently. Like leaders.
Make room for their long game. Not everyone wants equity and that’s okay. But they need space to figure that out. We talk about what drives them. What kind of work energizes them. What life they’re trying to build. If they want equity, we help them put their best feet forward. If they don’t, we still help them grow, contribute in ways the firm values, and assess their best career path into the future.
Real Story. Real Results.
One senior associate at a top tier litigation firm had just been promoted to non-equity partner. She was talented, well regarded internally, and trusted with execution, but she hadn’t run point on many client relationships. Her firm’s leadership team believed in her. Outside of her internal firm network and her core client, no one really knew her.
We picked one promising client to focus on: a national real estate developer with recurring litigation needs and a strong relationship with the firm’s managing partner. She had handled small projects here and there, but had never been the go-to. And she wasn’t sure how to become that person.
In coaching, we mapped out one simple way to reintroduce herself: offer the client a clear, useful point of view on a timely issue that had nothing to do with current matters. Something the client wouldn’t expect from her, but would appreciate. That started a monthly insight-sharing call. She picked up the phone more. Asked different questions. Stopped waiting for direction and started offering ideas. She built trust with both the general counsel and the business unit lead.
Within nine months, she was invited to pitch a new matter. The kind that never came her way before. Within 18 months, she was running the entire relationship. Today, she owns over $4 million in annual billings. She’s also mentoring another rising partner. She’s still the same smart lawyer. But she’s showing up differently and the client sees it.
What the Firm Gets
Coaching non-equity partners isn’t a courtesy. It’s a strategic advantage. Here's what firms actually get:
More revenue. These aren’t sideline pep talks. Coached leaders grow business. They deepen relationships. They generate real work. And they stay visible and consistent doing it.
A better leadership bench. Firms stop guessing who’s ready. They see it on client calls, in proposal teams, in internal rooms long before it’s time for a partner vote.
A culture of investment. People notice when non-equity leaders are getting real support. It tells the whole firm (and the profession): we back potential, not just titles.
Fewer painful missteps. Not everyone belongs on the equity path. Coaching gives leaders a safe space to explore what they want, what they’re good at, and how they can contribute. Some press forward. Others shift paths. Both outcomes are wins.
Talent that sticks. Non-equity leaders talk. So do their peers. When coaching becomes part of your brand, it boosts both retention and recruitment.
The Bottom Line
Non-equity partner used to mean “not quite there.” Now it’s a real role, with real stakes. Firms that treat it like a holding pattern will fall behind. Firms that coach into it will build stronger leaders, better businesses, and healthier partnerships.
I work with law firms, accounting firms, and consulting partnerships to help their non-equity leaders sharpen their game. Whether they’re aiming for equity or figuring out their next move, coaching gives them clarity, traction, and a way forward.
This is what I do. It’s real, it’s personal, and it works.