Susan handed out a one-page overview.
“The pilot has five core components,” she said. “Each one serves a specific purpose in your development.”
Anna reviewed the page as Susan went through each element.
Monthly Mentorship Meetings
Six sessions for each associate.
“Each of you will be paired with a partner mentor,” Susan explained. “You’ll meet monthly for an hour. These aren’t casual check-ins. They are structured conversations about how your work is being interpreted, what the firm is assessing at your level, and what progress looks like short of partnership.”
Quarterly Sponsorship Check-ins
Two strategic meetings for each associate.
“Twice during the pilot, you’ll meet with a senior partner who will serve as your sponsor,” Susan continued. “These meetings focus on visibility, opportunity, and advocacy. Sponsors help you understand how decisions about assignments and advancement are made.”
Core Business & Leadership Workshops
Four intensive sessions.
“We’ll meet as a group four times,” Susan said. These workshops focus on business development fundamentals, executive presence, strategic thinking, and building a sustainable practice. Before each workshop, you’ll complete a self-assessment so the sessions build on your strengths.”
Individual Coaching with Susan
Three sessions for each associate.
“You’ll meet with me individually three times,” Susan said. “At the beginning, middle, and end. These sessions focus on what is becoming clearer to you, the questions raised by the pilot, and what is now visible that wasn’t before.”
Peer Learning Circles
Bi-monthly group sessions.
Every other month, you’ll meet with the pilot group without partners or me present.
The Question
Carlos spoke up. “That’s a lot of meetings.”
“It is, and it’s intentional. Development doesn’t happen in a single conversation. It unfolds through repetition, reflection, and structured support over time, ” Susan said evenly.
She continued, “This is what investing in the 15% SIT Time actually looks like,” she added. “The firm is giving you permission and structure to do the development work that’s always been expected but never explicitly supported, or had time allocated to it.
Susan hadn’t expected the follow-up question.
“What happens,” Carlos asked, “if a partner doesn’t want to participate? Do we make it mandatory?”
She paused. The honest answer was that she didn’t know yet. The program was designed around voluntary engagement, but that assumption relied on partners seeing the value without having to demonstrate it. That assumption had not been tested.
“We’re going to treat it as voluntary at first,” she said. “And we’ll track what voluntary participation gets us. If the data shows gaps in participation that relate to outcomes, we’ll have a better conversation about structure.”
It was the right answer. She wasn’t entirely sure it was the complete one.
What You’ll Receive
Margaret spoke next. “In addition to the meetings and workshops, you’ll receive:
• Business Development Strengths Inventory – A comprehensive assessment to identify your current business development assets
• Leadership Self-Assessment – A tool to evaluate your executive presence and leadership skills.
• Monthly Reflection Prompts – Brief written reflections to track your development
• Resource Library – Curated materials on business development, leadership, and practice management.”
Continuing, Margaret said clearly, “Nothing from this pilot goes into your personnel files. This is about learning, not evaluation.”
Anna
Back at her desk following the orientation, Anna looked over the one-page overview.
Six mentorship meetings. Two sponsorship discussions. Four workshops. Three coaching sessions. Peer learning circles.
It was structured and intentional. It was the opposite of silence.
For the first time, the firm wasn’t asking her to handle everything alone. Instead, it was creating a system.
She realized she was pondering three questions she had never been permitted to ask aloud.
How do I build a practice here?\
What kind of leader am I becoming within this system?\
If I stay, what would fulfillment look like?
She had never been allowed to ask them out loud before. Starting next week, she would have to.
She didn’t have the answers.
But now, for the first time, she had a structure for finding them.
The MSL Saga™, MLARD™, and the 85/15 Model™ are trademarks of Susan B. Silverman Consulting. The MSL Saga and all episodes © 2026 Susan B. Silverman Consulting. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
