Most VPs and Directors say they want to “do more origination.” Very few can prove they are, and that’s the gap. Because by the time you’re being seriously considered for MD, the question is no longer:

“Are they good on deals?”

It becomes:

“Can they build a business?”

And businesses are not built on memory. They’re built on measurement, discipline, and consistency.

At some point, the job changes. You stop being part of the machine, and you become responsible for building a franchise.

As Marcel Brix, Managing Partner at Blok Management puts it: “You have to build up your own pipeline, you are responsible for your own payroll.”

That’s the role.

Not:

But building something that generates revenue. It's doing it consistently.

Ask most Directors:

If you get approximations and no concrete data, there is a systems issue.

Most bankers were never taught to originate and don’t understand the importance of tracking their business development activities, outcomes and, more importantly, the impact they are having. The best originators are tracking, measuring and improving their activities to maximise their impact.

This lack of awareness and execution means Directors aren’t effective or aware of their origination strategy. This leads to business development becoming ad hoc or opportunistic, effectiveness is minimised, and this, coupled with the lack of evidence, becomes a real problem in promotion discussions. Because promotion committees promote those who show they are on the right path.

Think of yourself as an intrapreneur; you are running your own business inside the bank. Your job is to build:

David Lam, National Partner at Deloitte shares that you need to have a ‘self-employed mentality. He challenges professionals to reject the traditional "employee" label and instead view themselves as the owners of their own personal business.

And like any business, you need visibility. You don’t need 50 KPIs, but the right ones that give you oversight that you are having an impact and operating like an MD.

At the top of the funnel, activity matters, but not all activity is equal.

Focus on:

The shift is from random networking → to intentional pipeline building.

Activity without conversion is just motion. You need to understand:

Because this is where credibility is built or lost, and tracking this forces you to ask the harder question: “Is what I’m doing actually working?”

At the MD level, everything comes back to revenue. Even if you don’t “own” the client yet, you need to show:

Because ultimately, origination is not just completing activities; it’s about having an economic impact.

Strong Directors don’t rely on one relationship. Instead, they build real coverage across their area.

Track:

Deals are only moments; it is the relationships that really matter, and building meaningful ones at scale is critical for success.

The best deal makers are building relationships with a focus on the long term.

Philip Ross, Vice Chairman at Jefferies frames it well: “It’s a continuum of relationship… an arc of 10 years.”

Given the demands of the role, time is your scarcest resource.

You need to know:

Taking the time to understand what works and which channels convert is critical. If you attended an event, did you get the impact you wanted? What did it lead to?

Likewise, if you are spending 30 minutes a day on LinkedIn, how is it helping you succeed?

Understanding clearly allows you to spend time in the right areas only and improve overall efficiency.

Great discipline is required for business development to set yourself up for success, especially given the demands of the industry.

As Marcel Brix says: “You need to block your calendar with origination weekly.”

And more importantly, you need to know what that time produces

The best firms don’t leave this to chance and understand that supporting origination is a top priority. Some of the leaders I speak with are using AI and technology to build systems around it.

Matt Zimmer, Global Head of IB at William Blair describes: “fuelling origination by using different data feeds and tools to boost lead gen.”

David Frank, CEO at Stonehaven talks about: “Origination functionality to enhance pipeline tracking and activity.”

And tools such as Intapp’s DealCloud are utilised widely across leading firms.

Understanding the tools available, mastering them and using a data-driven approach will only help you be a better originator.

You don’t need permission to do this, and avoid overload by starting simple.

Track:

Review:

Then bring it into conversations: “Here’s my origination engine ‘activity, conversion, and revenue’ and how it’s evolving.”

This will change how you see origination as well as how people see you!

Most promotion discussions cover points such as:

Your new understanding and ability to track shows you have the skills and knowledge, but more importantly, you are already building a business.

Tracking gives you evidence. Evidence builds confidence. Confidence drives promotion.

At some point, the job changes whether you formally acknowledge it or not.

You stop being evaluated on how well you execute. And you start being evaluated on what you create.

The challenge is that most bankers recognise this shift too late. They wait until origination becomes an expectation rather than building it early as a discipline.

Tracking is not admin. It is ownership.

And in an environment where promotion decisions are increasingly tied to revenue, relationships, and repeatability, ownership is what separates those who progress from those who plateau.