How Principals Earn a Seat at the MD/Partner Table

By Austin Shaw

By the time you’re up for MD/Partner, your ability to execute is no longer in question. You’ve led deals, built theses, and delivered returns. You’ve proven you’re smart, capable, and trustworthy.

But now the game changes.

This next leap isn’t about what you can do—it’s about what you can build.

What Firms Are Really Looking For at the MD/Partner Level:

• Are you consistently originating high-quality opportunities?

• Can you raise a fund, lead an industry vertical, or grow a team?

• Are you building durable relationships with LPs, founders, and board members?

• Do others inside the firm look to you for guidance and leadership?

What Holds People Back:

Some Principals stay in deal mode too long. They keep doing what’s worked: closing deals, being reliable, driving performance.

But they haven’t made the mindset shift. They’re still acting like high-performing VPs—not future Managing Directors. 

That’s what keeps them stuck.

The Hidden Skill: Enterprise Leadership

At this level, the defining trait is enterprise leadership—the ability to expand the firm’s reach, reputation, and results.

That means:

• Originating consistently and authentically

• Attracting capital, talent, and deal flow

• Making the people around you better—juniors and peers alike

• Representing the firm externally with credibility and clarity

It’s not about being the hero of the deal anymore. It’s about building something bigger than yourself.

If You Want to Get Promoted: Start thinking like a steward of the firm.

Look beyond your deals and ask:

• What am I helping grow?

• Where am I expanding value for the platform?

• Who am I pulling up with me?

MDs and Partners don’t just close—they shape the future of the firm.