No. 4: Demonstrate moral leadership
The legal department's boss needs to show moral leadership. As he or she leads, others follow. Lincoln did not put the Emancipation Proclamation up for a vote. He conceived it, he wrote it and he pushed it through.
A forgotten show of Lincoln's moral leadership is set out in Von Drehle's book. In 1862, there was a Sioux uprising in Minnesota. A military court tried and convicted more than 300 Sioux warriors of massacring civilians. The sentences: death by hanging. Lincoln intervened and, befitting a great lawyer, he personally reviews each file, sifted through the evidence and winnowed the list of the condemned to 38. There was a political uproar, but Lincoln was unmoved: "I could not hang men for votes."
Want to know more? Read "38 Nooses: Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End" by Scott W. Berg. The GC's takeaway: Doing the right thing matters, even if no reward follows.
No. 5: Manage anger
Lincoln's phrase in his first inaugural address "the better angels of our nature" implicitly recognizes the Shakespearean truth that each person is saint and sinner. And he acted on that understanding.
Lincoln was enraged at General George Meade for failing to pursue and crush Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee after Gettysburg. It was a bum rap. Meade's army, while victorious, was likewise shredded and in no shape for an organized pursuit. Lincoln's letter to Meade was heartless, blaming Meade for an indefinite continuation of the war. But Meade never received the letter, because Lincoln tossed it in his desk drawer. He could always place an event in context.
As Lincoln wrote in a July 28, 1862, letter to Cuthbert Bullitt, and republished in The New York Times, "I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing."
No. 6: Accept advice
A famous writer once accused his editor of killing his little darlings. It's a funny line, but that sentiment comes from a convulsive ego. Leaders need to learn to keep their egos in check.
While the Emancipation Proclamation was, in all respects, Lincoln's little darling, it was not sacrosanct. He freely accepted a key word change from Secretary of State William H. Seward. Lincoln wrote that the federal government would recognize the freedom of former slaves. Seward suggested the powerful phrase "recognize and maintain." Freedom was not just to be given, but enforced. Seeing its wisdom, Lincoln scratched it in, filling a gaping hole. Listen to others. We already know what we think; we need to learn from others' insights.
"The Big Lebowski" wasn't nominated for an Oscar — not a one. No, its dharma was to become a cult classic after its release in the late 1990s. It's best known for a single line near the end: "The dude abides."
"Abide" is an ancient word from Greek and Hebrew, appearing 82 times in the King James version of the Bible. It does not mean, as one might suspect, to tolerate circumstances or passively resign oneself. Its meaning runs much deeper, counseling people to be steadfast regarding what matters, despite obstacles, naysayers and doubts. Lincoln abided. And, come to think of it, the word undergirds a pretty good template for GCs. "The GC abides."
Michael P. Maslanka is the managing partner of the Dallas office of Constangy, Brooks & Smith. He is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His podcasts and "Work Matters" blog can be found at texaslawyer.com. His email address is mmaslanka@constangy.com.
This article originally appeared in Texas Lawyer.
-
Steven Katkov Esq.
Another excellent perspective on the so-called "Sioux Uprising" is presented by Professor Carol Chomsky in The United States-Dakota War Trials: A Study in Military Injustice, Stanford Law Review, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Nov., 1990), pp. 13-98
Comments are not moderated. To report offensive comments, click here.
Reader Comments