To the 638 newly anointed managing directors at Goldman Sachs, your bosses have a message for you: Congratulations. And the real work begins now.
As the celebrations break out, Business Insider asked five of the firm’s partners — its ultimate echelon of top brass — to share their advice with the new promotes, and they answered. Each one sits in a different business line, offering a distinct perspective on how they view the role and its duties.
The managing director rank is one level their junior, and many partners have crossed through the MD threshold on the way to joining the firm’s most powerful circle outside the C-suite. While the promotion comes with perks — such as a base salary of up to $400,000 — being an MD often entails more responsibilities and leadership functions, including heading up services and businesses, originating deals, leading teams, and mentoring junior employees.
The partners who shared their thoughts emphasized consistent themes: teamwork, appreciating colleagues’ contributions along the journey, and showing the next level of leadership.
Their advice, presented in their own words, have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
‘We,’ not ‘I’
Meena Lakdawala-Flynn, cohead of global private wealth management and One Goldman Sachs, stressed the importance of demonstrating team leadership and prioritizing inclusion over ego.
The biggest piece of advice is that it’s not an “I,” it’s a “we.” When you get to MD, it’s a “we.”
How am I supporting my team? How am I building my team? How am I helping our people?
It’s also about, “I am an owner of this business. I am a steward of Goldman Sachs, and I need to make sure that everything I do and how I conduct myself internally and with clients, et cetera, is as a steward of the firm.”
Cultivate the next generation of leaders
Matt McClure, global cohead of investment banking, said that managing directors play a crucial role on the front lines of deepening the firm’s relationships by engaging directly with clients.
Becoming a managing director is an incredible personal and professional accomplishment. It reflects the resilience, judgment, and dedication you’ve shown over many years. Celebrate it — and then step into the role with intention.
As an MD, your responsibilities deepen both internally and with clients: own the client dialogue, set the tone for your teams, and help develop the next generation of leaders across the firm.
‘Keep running towards the hard things’
Leke Osinubi, chief digital risk officer for engineering and chief information security officer for Goldman Sachs Bank USA, says you should keep embracing challenges.
Keep running towards the hard things and trying to solve the difficult problems because it’s those challenges, and your resiliency, that created the opportunity for you to celebrate your moment today.
While this represents an amazing individual milestone in your career, it also serves as a testament to the collective experience and the support you received from your team. Make sure you pay it forward by continuing to develop the careers and experiences of people at the firm, as others did for you.
That is the ethos of a Goldman Sachs MD.
Be part of the ‘multiplier effect’
Asahi Pompey, global head of the Office of Corporate Engagement and chair of the Urban Investment Group, said this is a big win worth relishing — and then encouraged finding ways to use your new role to help others achieve their objectives, too.
Don’t do what people usually do, which is they savor it for a couple of weeks and then ask themselves, “Okay, what’s the next thing?” Savor it for as long as it took to get you there. It’s an incredible, incredible achievement over the course of a career.
Look around the organization and say, “Am I going to be the person that helped them achieve their goals?'” If every new promote promises that they’re going to find the person that they’re going to promote, the multiplier effect of that would be incredible.
Demonstrate a new kind of ownership
Alexandra Wilson-Elizondo, global cohead of multi-asset solutions within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, had a front row seat to the high-stakes selection process. She said that making MD marks a fundamental shift from being a contributor to being the owner of your team’s work — two different mentalities.
Being a part of managing the cross-ruffing process this year was an honor. It is a meticulously built process and moves far beyond a mere paper exercise. It was inspiring to see even the most senior leaders with so little time commit to the rigorous exercise of identifying the firm’s future leaders.”
When you ascend to the next level, you often look in the mirror and say, “Well, now what?” because you have been charging so hard at this goal. This is your cue to shift from a contributor to an owner and embrace the full scope of your influence.
It is also the time to pay it forward and build the next class of MDs and VPs. Celebrate the village that helped you get here. Gratitude fuels future success.”
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