There are, generally speaking, two kinds of managing partner. The more effective version is marked by a few shared characteristics. Most strikingly, they will have a confidence-inspiring assuredness about them. This will be manifested in most dealings, but in particular in those with the leader's own partnership. Typically, this breed will have become highly adept at achieving that delicate calibration of positioning themselves far enough ahead of their partners to lead but close enough to bring them along.

Successful managing partners will usually also be notable for their communications skills, having become effective at establishing dialogue with a range of key parties both internally and externally. This, of course, starts with the partnership but will cover groups including non-legal staff, clients and the media.

But perhaps the most crucial element that marks a good managing partner is openness or, put another way, a willingness to be constructively critical regarding the business they run – at least when confronted with constructive criticism. It is this frank, down-to-earth quality that gives leaders' statements additional credibility. And credibility is a large part of the currency of persuasion. Look at the most financially successful law firms and it is very rare that they are not run by someone with most of these characteristics.

But what would the opposite beast look like? If the model legal leader is inherently comfortable in their own skin, those who struggle are anything but. In such cases there will be uncertain communication and a lack of trust with their own partners. They will often come across externally as closed and defensive. In some cases this attitude can be battle-weariness as a new leader takes on a firm beset with problems, which can often make the inexperienced 'chief executive' feel besieged and initially over-cautious.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect in observing these two contrasting creatures is the number of times they are one and the same person – what separates them is only time and experience.

Becoming a good leader is the journey that many of the best managing partners must make between starting their first term and their evolution by the time they've reached their second. Not everyone follows this pattern. A few talented souls get it right straight off while some struggle to ever grow into the role. But I would argue that one of the factors that has underpinned the substantial improvements in law firm management over the last decade is that growing numbers of leaders are successfully making this jump. The question for law firms is: how do you get your new leader to make that journey as quickly as possible?