ACC’s celebration of 30 years of service to the in-house legal community gave me an opportunity to reflect about reasons for its success. I believe the essential factor was the many outstanding leaders and members willing to share their knowledge so others could learn from their experience. One such person was Bill Lytton, the 2002 chair of the ACC board of directors. Stated simply, working with him made you better (and it was fun as well).
I learned a great deal from Bill about leadership, corporate culture, how it differs from organization to organization, the positive impact of humor and other things you need in order to be a successful general counsel. Bill retired a few years ago as senior vice president and general counsel of Tyco (where he was part of the “clean up” team after the scandal). His remarkable career included private practice, serving as a government prosecutor and special counsel to the President of the United States, as well as being general counsel of two Fortune 500 companies.
The other day, I came across a copy of a speech Bill gave to a group of law students about the challenges of working for an organization (as opposed to being in private practice). I recommend it to practicing in-house counsel or those thinking about going in-house. You can find it at here.
I believe Bill’s remarks capture the essence of the qualities and skills one needs to be successful. I especially found his comments on the twin roles of being both a leader and follower intriguing. We all have seen and heard a great deal about leadership, being a good leader, their power, influence and impact, as well as striking examples of leadership failures. Rarely do we hear about being a “follower,” and when we do, it usually has a pejorative tone or context.
As Bill notes, the traditional descriptions of leadership include:
- service — good leaders serve others;
- inspiration — good leaders inspire others with their words and, most importantly, their actions;
- vision — presented in a compelling way;
- honesty — people can believe what you say;
- integrity — living consistently to high standards of behavior; and
- enabling and encouraging others to grow and develop into leaders.
We are all leaders in some way and should aspire to achieve these standards no matter what our formal position in our organization might be. When it comes to the corporate scandals and executives who found themselves under fire, Bill asserts that many resulted from a failure of leadership. (He is not alone in this regard.)
However, and this is where it gets interesting, he goes on to talk about “followership as a quality and attribute to which each of us should aspire.” While we each may be a leader either formally or informally within our organization or department, we also are followers. “There is no leader that does not, at the same time, follow, answer to and owe a duty to someone, whether it is a boss … board … or even the Community. …” Bill then states:
Fundamentally, followers owe a duty to their leaders and to the organizations in which they serve. Simply stated, that duty is to help the leaders make the right decisions, and to remember what is really important.
Bill contends the corporate scandals we have read and heard about resulted from a failure of both leadership and followership. The leaders lost sight of their responsibilities and failed, but so did the followers who did not speak up and act. As in-house counsel, you have responsibilities greater than other employees. Consequently, a time may come when you may be forced to decide between your career in the organization or doing the right thing.
Being a [leader] in an organization is a huge challenge, especially when you are not the leader. … [N]o matter what your level within the organization, people will look up to you because of your status as a lawyer. … Service, doing the right thing — legally as well as ethically, and setting the right example — these are the duties of leadership.
Being a [follower] in an organization requires courage, integrity, judgment, tact and resolve. … [I]t is your job to steer your client, and your bosses and coworkers away from legal risk and towards positions that do not expose the organization or themselves — or yourself — to legal or public vilification. It can sometimes be very difficult to summon the courage to do that.
Bill recognized the importance developing your own network of people whose judgment and discretion you can rely on. “Don’t think you can do this alone, that you can become an [in-house counsel] for the first time and not need help, guidance, support and good advice. No one is that self-sufficient or wise.” ACC’s Annual Meeting begins at the end of this month. There is no better place to begin to develop your network than at the largest single gathering of in-house counsel. Find out more about it here.
The guidance Bill Lytton offered to those law students remains valid today. We should strive to be not only a good leader but a good follower as well.
*This is a revised version of an article originally posted September 17, 2012 in Canadian Lawyer Inhouse.