In Calm Weather, All Ships Have Good Captains

by | September 19, 2004 | Articles, Leadership

This pithy
article is about leadership in the context of General Counsels,
but leadership is leadership and the same observations would apply
to practice group managers, Executive Directors, and for that matter
CFO’s and CIO’s.  Why then do I fear its insights go against
the grain of many lawyers’ professional training?  Because
it urges you to:

  • make decisions and take stands;
  • accept responsibility for bad news but share credit for good
    news; and
  • don’t isolate yourself on the executive floor.

In other words, risk-averse doesn’t cut it.  "Thinking like
a lawyer" has its place (particularly on finals in law school and
bar exams), but the leader of an enterprise has to, instead, "think
different."

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