The past week has certainly been a reality check for all of us in Southern California, especially San Diego County. My words can't do justice to the horrendous physical and psychological damage that was inflicted upon our communities. However, I have never been prouder to be a Californian and specifically, a San Diegan.
I have spent a considerable amount of time in other parts of the country, and I am well aware of the many ignorant and widespread misconceptions about California and Californians. People frequently question my faith, my politics, my sense of reality, my ethics, and my intellect, simply because I am from California. This was never more apparent than when I left home for college in the South. Surely our fair state has more than its share of hedonists and shameful ambassadors, but I consider it unjust that we are always on the defensive end of the morality debate. This might seem baffling to many, but I believe that in many ways, California is the sole remaining part of the country in which traditional Christian compassion and American values still endure.
This past week, I saw countless churches open their doors and resources to those who were displaced and/or dispossessed of their property. The sense of compassion and goodwill was widespread. Many brave individuals gave up their comfort and safety to lend a helping hand, and in some cases, it cost people their lives. Unlike post-Katrina New Orleans, people in Southern California aren't hell-bent on pointing the finger and assigning blame for this natural disaster. People here are taking responsibility for their own actions and are asking first what they can do to help their neighbors, rather than being completely focused on slandering others and exploiting the fallout for their own political interests. Quite simply, Californians are embodying the values upon which this country was founded, rather than the nefarious, anti-establishment hatred that was showcased following Katrina. California has always been on the cutting edge of American progress, and I hope that decent and fair-minded Californians will join others around the country in leading a renaissance of the compassion and ethics that made America great.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Spiritual Quidditch
Last night I had the opportunity to screen the latest film in the amazingly-popular Harry Potter series. The movie was well-made, complete with stellar acting, action-packed drama, and an enchanting musical score. Yet the most powerful part of the evening for me was watching the audience file out at the end. It was amazing to see hundreds of faces that were lit up in exhilaration over the spectacle that had just been witnessed. Adults, adolescents, and children alike appeared as though they had been touched in their souls by something more than a motion picture, something that satisfied (or at least resembled the object of) a deeper spiritual longing. I found myself asking why this particular storyline has achieved such an amazing following. The reflections that follow will surely not endear me to diehard Potter fans, some of whom I love dearly. Furthermore, I concede that my perspective is surely influenced by the fact that I have read just one of the books. However, I feel compelled to speak my mind on the subject from the position of an outside viewer, offering one tentative hypothesis as to why this particular series has enjoyed such overwhelming success.
The Harry Potter story seems to bear many details and motifs in common with another series of books that has developed a significant following: The Holy Bible. Just consider it for a moment: Pure good pitted against pure evil in a mortal struggle, unfolding prophecies, a minority of individuals possessing special knowledge who are subsequently persecuted, a dark lord that has fallen from a noble position and attempts to rally minions in a self-serving scheme, sacrificial love even to the point of death, the idea that a human can overcome evil through purity and righteousness - bearing the physical evidence of his previous wounds and sufferings…..Starting to sound familiar? Surely the list goes on.
It seems to me that the Harry Potter story has seized upon many of the spiritual themes of the Gospel. Originating in post-Christian
Am I saying that there is something intrinsically evil about the Harry Potter series? No. Am I calling the story sacrilegious blasphemy? No. Am I attempting to demonize Evangelicals who enjoy the books and movies? No. In fact, I myself enjoy them and see nothing wrong with enjoying them for the sake of entertainment. All I am trying to articulate is that as Evangelicals, we must pay close attention to what is happening around us. We must be on the lookout for those individuals for whom stories like these have become more than entertainment. The danger that I see in the series is that it may be received by an immature and spiritually needy audience in a moral vacuum. This series undoubtedly possesses strong spiritual undercurrents, and yet is so decidedly secular that it may in fact cloud the minds of many in this generation. As an Evangelical, I certainly believe that nothing can match the all-consuming power of the one God when he chooses to assert said power. However, I also believe that the Lord chooses to speak to so many of us in a still, small voice. How then, are so many young people ever to heed the sound of that voice, or ever to recognize the revolutionary power of the true Gospel story when distractions like Harry Potter have more to offer in the way of special effects and visual drama?
I will dare to guess that many people are drawn to Harry Potter because they can identify with the protagonist as he journeys through life confronting the issues of good and evil, often with ambiguity. In a way, they may come to see themselves as part of the story. A possible effect of this, which I am most concerned about, is that the young generation may never come to see themselves as characters in the true story of God’s salvation for mankind when they are so easily distracted by tempting substitutes of this sort.
The solution to this, as always, is in our hands. We shouldn’t boycott the movies and alienate outsiders with talk about the “evils” of Harry Potter. Instead, we must seek to spread the good news of the gospel with renewed vigor, trusting that the spirit of the Lord is as powerful as ever. We must engage popular culture, but in doing so we must be careful not to lose our senses and our zeal as though we were ensnared by magic.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Grapes of Wrath
In the gospel of Matthew, Chapter Seven 17-20, Jesus says "In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit...Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits."
This passage immediately follows Jesus' earlier imperative that we must not store up for ourselves "treasures on earth". Here he is teaching in true Rabbinic fashion - providing commentary on the sacred scriptures and prophecies, especially those prophecies that told of false prophets emerging in the Last Days. What he imparts to us in this passage is perhaps the most intelligent and logical gem of advice ever uttered on the subject of character evaluation - we are to examine the fruits of peoples' lives in order to understand the condition of their hearts. Unfortunately in these turbulent times, the rotten fruits of many are all too plain to see.
Yesterday in London, the world had yet another chilling opportunity to see the fruit of the enemies of the Western World. What, you might ask, was this fruit? Two cars packed full of industrial-strength explosives, backed up by a meticulous plot to immolate hundreds of human beings. These killers were attempting to announce to the world their denial that those innocents in London were treasured children of God, worthy of the sacrifice of the Son of Man. Instead, they revealed their belief that those civilians were nothing more than means to a desired end. That end, of course, being the triumph of radical Jihadist Islam, a theocratic objective that is rejected by even the majority of mainstream Muslims. This is the fruit of our enemy. Let us beseech the Lord that he may transform the hearts and minds of these people so that they may understand that service to the one true God is to be found through healing and humble supplication on behalf of others, not in the "slaughter of infidels" and in brash statements of arrogance.
The U.S. government and its ambassadors have certainly committed their share of tragic mistakes. From the failure to demonstrate the awesome power of the atomic bomb to the Japanese government prior to its tactical use on a civilian target, to the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, to the base acts committed at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, we have had anything but a flawless record. Yet to this day I still firmly believe that the majority of our government's offices are occupied by men and women adhering to what is known as positive realism: the belief that history is dynamic and that the lives of the world's citizens can be improved and impacted through sacrifice, generosity, service, and humility before the Almighty. Subsequently, good is being done in countless places around the world, though it may not be reported in prime time headlines on CNN or Fox. I will take the fruits of our government, tradition, and leaders over those of our enemies every time.
This passage immediately follows Jesus' earlier imperative that we must not store up for ourselves "treasures on earth". Here he is teaching in true Rabbinic fashion - providing commentary on the sacred scriptures and prophecies, especially those prophecies that told of false prophets emerging in the Last Days. What he imparts to us in this passage is perhaps the most intelligent and logical gem of advice ever uttered on the subject of character evaluation - we are to examine the fruits of peoples' lives in order to understand the condition of their hearts. Unfortunately in these turbulent times, the rotten fruits of many are all too plain to see.
Yesterday in London, the world had yet another chilling opportunity to see the fruit of the enemies of the Western World. What, you might ask, was this fruit? Two cars packed full of industrial-strength explosives, backed up by a meticulous plot to immolate hundreds of human beings. These killers were attempting to announce to the world their denial that those innocents in London were treasured children of God, worthy of the sacrifice of the Son of Man. Instead, they revealed their belief that those civilians were nothing more than means to a desired end. That end, of course, being the triumph of radical Jihadist Islam, a theocratic objective that is rejected by even the majority of mainstream Muslims. This is the fruit of our enemy. Let us beseech the Lord that he may transform the hearts and minds of these people so that they may understand that service to the one true God is to be found through healing and humble supplication on behalf of others, not in the "slaughter of infidels" and in brash statements of arrogance.
The U.S. government and its ambassadors have certainly committed their share of tragic mistakes. From the failure to demonstrate the awesome power of the atomic bomb to the Japanese government prior to its tactical use on a civilian target, to the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, to the base acts committed at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, we have had anything but a flawless record. Yet to this day I still firmly believe that the majority of our government's offices are occupied by men and women adhering to what is known as positive realism: the belief that history is dynamic and that the lives of the world's citizens can be improved and impacted through sacrifice, generosity, service, and humility before the Almighty. Subsequently, good is being done in countless places around the world, though it may not be reported in prime time headlines on CNN or Fox. I will take the fruits of our government, tradition, and leaders over those of our enemies every time.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The Metrics of Asylum
In the field of international justice and humanitarian aid, no organization recognizes the importance of measuring results more than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In November 2005, the UNHCR released a pilot report aimed at presenting refugee protection from a quantitative perspective. The document, entitled Measuring Protection by Numbers, is now available online as a comprehensive document.
One key objective of the pilot report is to monitor demographic trends on a global scale, in order to shed light on the importance of the work that the UNHCR does in offering protection to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP's). According to the report, by the end of 2005, the total population of concern to the UNHCR had risen from 19.5 million individuals to 21 million (http://www.unhcr.org/statistics.html). The report also identifies Pakistan, Iran, Germany, Tanzania, and the U.S. as the largest refugee hosting countries in the world. Pakistan is the largest, hosting approximately 1.1 million refugees. The UNHCR also closely monitors the number of new asylum-seekers and processing of claims on an annual basis, by country. For example, it is reported that in 2003, there were 73,800 new asylum seekers in the U.S., and by 2005 that number declined to 48,900 (http://www.unhcr.org/statistics.html).
While the UNHCR is doing a good job of monitoring demographic trends and communicating their importance, there is still some progress to be made in the way of operational metrics related to funding and expenditures. The UNHCR has a very detailed budget, but what it has lacked to date is a way to link funding and budget expenditures to actual results in terms of aid to individuals. In an organization as vast as the UNHCR, the importance of clearly defined results is paramount in focusing and aligning the efforts of those involved in the organization. It is encouraging, therefore, that the UNHCR's leadership recognizes the need for results-based budgeting and other forms of strategic management. According to the UNHCR's website, the organization is "moving forward with its efforts to institutionalize results-based management, including results-based budgeting, as a fundamental performance, results, and accountability framework for the organization". One of the UNHCR's key objectives related to results-based management is to "capture baseline information on the core problems we are addressing in relation to standards and indicators". Perhaps most importantly, the UNHCR hopes that performance-based management "will facilitate the measuring and recording of progress against objectives and expenditures against budget, thus enabling better management information on what has been delivered and what impact it has had in improving the lives of persons of concern" (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis /vtx/home?id=search). The organization plans to implement a software-based system that will facilitate the results-management process, and it is set to be rolled out in 2008.
Thus, to date the UNHCR has not done an excellent job of communicating operational key metrics to potential donors, governmental organizations, and the world's public. However, it is promising that the organization's leadership recognizes the need to improve in this area. It is currently working to implement a strategic management system that will link its funding and budgeting to actual results (An example of this would be a measure of the number of refugees processed at a given location per $1,000 budgeted dollars). The organization already has a fairly complex and well-established system for tracking results and data trends. This system can easily be adapted to fit a strategic management framework. Because the UNHCR has identified how critical its operations are to changing the lives of millions of individuals, it must further capitalize on the effective communication of results in order to align and focus the efforts of its employees and donors. Leadership theorists have shown that subordinates in an organization want to have a clear understanding of how their personal efforts are contributing to the long-term success of the organization. In this case, they want to know precisely how they are helping to change lives.
One key objective of the pilot report is to monitor demographic trends on a global scale, in order to shed light on the importance of the work that the UNHCR does in offering protection to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP's). According to the report, by the end of 2005, the total population of concern to the UNHCR had risen from 19.5 million individuals to 21 million (http://www.unhcr.org/statistics.html). The report also identifies Pakistan, Iran, Germany, Tanzania, and the U.S. as the largest refugee hosting countries in the world. Pakistan is the largest, hosting approximately 1.1 million refugees. The UNHCR also closely monitors the number of new asylum-seekers and processing of claims on an annual basis, by country. For example, it is reported that in 2003, there were 73,800 new asylum seekers in the U.S., and by 2005 that number declined to 48,900 (http://www.unhcr.org/statistics.html).
While the UNHCR is doing a good job of monitoring demographic trends and communicating their importance, there is still some progress to be made in the way of operational metrics related to funding and expenditures. The UNHCR has a very detailed budget, but what it has lacked to date is a way to link funding and budget expenditures to actual results in terms of aid to individuals. In an organization as vast as the UNHCR, the importance of clearly defined results is paramount in focusing and aligning the efforts of those involved in the organization. It is encouraging, therefore, that the UNHCR's leadership recognizes the need for results-based budgeting and other forms of strategic management. According to the UNHCR's website, the organization is "moving forward with its efforts to institutionalize results-based management, including results-based budgeting, as a fundamental performance, results, and accountability framework for the organization". One of the UNHCR's key objectives related to results-based management is to "capture baseline information on the core problems we are addressing in relation to standards and indicators". Perhaps most importantly, the UNHCR hopes that performance-based management "will facilitate the measuring and recording of progress against objectives and expenditures against budget, thus enabling better management information on what has been delivered and what impact it has had in improving the lives of persons of concern" (http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis /vtx/home?id=search). The organization plans to implement a software-based system that will facilitate the results-management process, and it is set to be rolled out in 2008.
Thus, to date the UNHCR has not done an excellent job of communicating operational key metrics to potential donors, governmental organizations, and the world's public. However, it is promising that the organization's leadership recognizes the need to improve in this area. It is currently working to implement a strategic management system that will link its funding and budgeting to actual results (An example of this would be a measure of the number of refugees processed at a given location per $1,000 budgeted dollars). The organization already has a fairly complex and well-established system for tracking results and data trends. This system can easily be adapted to fit a strategic management framework. Because the UNHCR has identified how critical its operations are to changing the lives of millions of individuals, it must further capitalize on the effective communication of results in order to align and focus the efforts of its employees and donors. Leadership theorists have shown that subordinates in an organization want to have a clear understanding of how their personal efforts are contributing to the long-term success of the organization. In this case, they want to know precisely how they are helping to change lives.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Haugen the Humble: A Level 5 Leader
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins describes his conception of a five-level hierarchy of executive capabilities, with Level 5 leaders at the top. Every good-to-great company that he has identified had Level 5 leadership throughout its pivotal transition years. Collins states that whereas other companies are often led by executives with large egos, Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. He describes how they are ambitious, but that they are ambitious primarily for the company rather than for themselves. Chiefly, Level 5 leaders display a compelling modesty, they are driven by an almost fanatical desire to produce results, they display "workmanlike diligence", and they set up successors for even greater success, among other traits.
In scanning the field of international human rights law for Level 5 leadership, no figure emerges more prominently than Gary Haugen, the founder and CEO of International Justice Mission. There are many compelling reasons why he exemplifies the paradoxical mix of professional will and personal humility that Collins describes.
With regard to will, Haugen has proven himself to be a visionary change agent on numerous occasions. At a most basic level, Haugen possesses undeniably strong credentials as a human rights lawyer. After completing his Bachelor's degree at Harvard, Haugen graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law. According to David McKay Wilson of Harvard Magazine, just nine years after completing his bachelor's degree, Haugen directed the UN's exhumation of mass graves in order to collect the necessary evidence for the war crimes tribunal against the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide. In many instances, Haugen physically exhumed bodies and gathered evidence on his own. He later worked for the U.S. Department of Justice before leaving to found International Justice Mission.
(http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/030508.html)
According to Collins, an important component of the Level 5 leader's professional will is that they "demonstrate an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult". Haugen clearly exhibits this kind of professional will. When asked about his decision to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in order to found IJM, Haugen responded "If I left the Department of Justice, I knew there wasn't going to be less justice in America. But I knew there were places in the world [where], if I didn't make an intentional decision to show up, there would be no one to provide a voice for those who are abused."
For Haugen the resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results has entailed working in some of the world's darkest corners to enforce the law where local law enforcement agencies have failed. In another article by David McKay Wilson for the University of Chicago School of Law (http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/record/spring2005/ global-human-rights.html), we are told that Haugen works to "get down in the trenches by providing life-altering help for those unable to fend for themselves". In another telling quote, Haugen asserted "We are drawn as a professional class to the intellectually complex, but what the poor desperately need isn't the next level of intellectual sophistication. They need us to stand with them and give them a voice." Wilson describes how Haugen has personally taken part in many actual brothel raids, and experiences immense satisfaction with the liberation of individuals, one case at a time. Thus is the nature of Haugen and IJM's work, which was a product of his vision for global justice.
Collins also describes how Level 5 leaders create superb results and establish standards for building enduring great companies and organizations. Haugen has certainly accomplished this with IJM. At IJM's founding, Haugen personally raised $200,000 and recruited a handful of lawyers and experts in law enforcement. Haugen created a clear catalyst in the transition from a vision to a great organization by publishing his book The Good News About Injustice, which firmly established a vision for the organization. Since then, IJM has expanded beyond its Washington, D.C. headquarters to six fully staffed regional operation centers around the world, and currently employs 140 full-time workers, operating on a $7.8 million annual budget (Wilson-Harvard Journal).
In addition to expansion, the results that Haugen has achieved are astounding. Wilson describes how he has achieved worldwide recognition for IJM. U.S. Ambassador at Large John Wilson was quoted as saying "Gary is one of the anti-slavery heroes of the twenty-first century. He has decided to go where no nongovernmental organization has gone: to focus on law enforcement, to cajole and work with foreign governments to rescue victims and throw the criminals in jail." In addition to rescuing thousands of individuals from injustice, Haugen was recently the recipient of a 2 million dollar grant from the State Department for the purpose of fighting sex trafficking in Southeast Asia. Additionally, he was just named the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Wilberforce Forum Award, which recognizes an individual who has made a difference in the face of formidable societal problems and injustices. Throughout his career, it has been in moments such as these when Gary Haugen has best exemplified the second major aspect of a Level 5 leader: Personal humility. In his acceptance speech after receiving the Wilberforce Award, Haugen did not speak about himself and his accomplishments, but instead he chose to talk about IJM as an organization and the larger role that evangelical Christians play in bringing about social change. He asked "William Wilberforce and a vibrant movement of Christian abolitionists didn’t miss their opportunity in 1807. So what will it take for us not to miss our opportunity in 2007?”. Clearly, Haugen's overall ability to channel his ambition to the organization is indicative of his status as a Level 5 leader. (www.ijm.org)
Finally, Haugen's identity as an evangelical Christian has helped him to maintain a perspective of humility in leading the organization. When a reporter asked him to reflect upon the seemingly miraculous fruits of his original vision, Haugen humbly responded by saying "God is responsible for miracles, and I am just called upon to be faithful for what good I can do" (Wilson-Harvard Journal).
Thus, through a combination of professional will and personal humility, Gary Haugen has proven that Collins' Level 5 leadership is not impossible for Christian lawyers who are not at all concerned with making a profit.
In scanning the field of international human rights law for Level 5 leadership, no figure emerges more prominently than Gary Haugen, the founder and CEO of International Justice Mission. There are many compelling reasons why he exemplifies the paradoxical mix of professional will and personal humility that Collins describes.
With regard to will, Haugen has proven himself to be a visionary change agent on numerous occasions. At a most basic level, Haugen possesses undeniably strong credentials as a human rights lawyer. After completing his Bachelor's degree at Harvard, Haugen graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law. According to David McKay Wilson of Harvard Magazine, just nine years after completing his bachelor's degree, Haugen directed the UN's exhumation of mass graves in order to collect the necessary evidence for the war crimes tribunal against the perpetrators of the Rwanda genocide. In many instances, Haugen physically exhumed bodies and gathered evidence on his own. He later worked for the U.S. Department of Justice before leaving to found International Justice Mission.
(http://www.harvardmagazine.com/on-line/030508.html)
According to Collins, an important component of the Level 5 leader's professional will is that they "demonstrate an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult". Haugen clearly exhibits this kind of professional will. When asked about his decision to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in order to found IJM, Haugen responded "If I left the Department of Justice, I knew there wasn't going to be less justice in America. But I knew there were places in the world [where], if I didn't make an intentional decision to show up, there would be no one to provide a voice for those who are abused."
For Haugen the resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results has entailed working in some of the world's darkest corners to enforce the law where local law enforcement agencies have failed. In another article by David McKay Wilson for the University of Chicago School of Law (http://www.law.uchicago.edu/alumni/record/spring2005/ global-human-rights.html), we are told that Haugen works to "get down in the trenches by providing life-altering help for those unable to fend for themselves". In another telling quote, Haugen asserted "We are drawn as a professional class to the intellectually complex, but what the poor desperately need isn't the next level of intellectual sophistication. They need us to stand with them and give them a voice." Wilson describes how Haugen has personally taken part in many actual brothel raids, and experiences immense satisfaction with the liberation of individuals, one case at a time. Thus is the nature of Haugen and IJM's work, which was a product of his vision for global justice.
Collins also describes how Level 5 leaders create superb results and establish standards for building enduring great companies and organizations. Haugen has certainly accomplished this with IJM. At IJM's founding, Haugen personally raised $200,000 and recruited a handful of lawyers and experts in law enforcement. Haugen created a clear catalyst in the transition from a vision to a great organization by publishing his book The Good News About Injustice, which firmly established a vision for the organization. Since then, IJM has expanded beyond its Washington, D.C. headquarters to six fully staffed regional operation centers around the world, and currently employs 140 full-time workers, operating on a $7.8 million annual budget (Wilson-Harvard Journal).
In addition to expansion, the results that Haugen has achieved are astounding. Wilson describes how he has achieved worldwide recognition for IJM. U.S. Ambassador at Large John Wilson was quoted as saying "Gary is one of the anti-slavery heroes of the twenty-first century. He has decided to go where no nongovernmental organization has gone: to focus on law enforcement, to cajole and work with foreign governments to rescue victims and throw the criminals in jail." In addition to rescuing thousands of individuals from injustice, Haugen was recently the recipient of a 2 million dollar grant from the State Department for the purpose of fighting sex trafficking in Southeast Asia. Additionally, he was just named the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Wilberforce Forum Award, which recognizes an individual who has made a difference in the face of formidable societal problems and injustices. Throughout his career, it has been in moments such as these when Gary Haugen has best exemplified the second major aspect of a Level 5 leader: Personal humility. In his acceptance speech after receiving the Wilberforce Award, Haugen did not speak about himself and his accomplishments, but instead he chose to talk about IJM as an organization and the larger role that evangelical Christians play in bringing about social change. He asked "William Wilberforce and a vibrant movement of Christian abolitionists didn’t miss their opportunity in 1807. So what will it take for us not to miss our opportunity in 2007?”. Clearly, Haugen's overall ability to channel his ambition to the organization is indicative of his status as a Level 5 leader. (www.ijm.org)
Finally, Haugen's identity as an evangelical Christian has helped him to maintain a perspective of humility in leading the organization. When a reporter asked him to reflect upon the seemingly miraculous fruits of his original vision, Haugen humbly responded by saying "God is responsible for miracles, and I am just called upon to be faithful for what good I can do" (Wilson-Harvard Journal).
Thus, through a combination of professional will and personal humility, Gary Haugen has proven that Collins' Level 5 leadership is not impossible for Christian lawyers who are not at all concerned with making a profit.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
My Super Senior Partner
Obviously I have never held a full-time job as lawyer in a major firm....nor have I held any job related to the legal field, for that matter. So by any objective standard I would not be a very credible source regarding which qualities that an effective manager in the legal domain should possess. What I do know, however, are the characteristics of a senior partner or supervisor that would be most inspiring to me as a new lawyer. I believe that the best leaders are those that adopt an affiliative style of leadership. That is, leaders who seek to develop harmonious relationships with employees, while being sensitive to the unique identities of those employees. This requires a great deal of flexibility on the part of leaders, as they naturally may lead many different types of people, but it also has a high potential to inspire employees by helping them to feel valued. Furthermore, I believe that another key strategy that leaders can employ is to encourage subordinates to celebrate their short-term victories on the road towards achieving long-term goals. Not only are these the most inspiring leadership characteristics for me personally, but I also believe that they are essential for all effective leaders.
I consider myself a highly motivated individual. One may go so far as to say that I am a classic overachiever. However, this was not always so. In my freshman year of high school I had a teacher who regularly set aside time to meet with me to discuss my personal development outside the classroom. This particular teacher was not accustomed to this kind of one-on-one mentoring approach. However, she recognized that this was something that was important to me personally, and was willing to be flexible and adjust her leadership style accordingly. When I performed well on various tasks, the teacher helped me to stay motivated by encouraging me to celebrate those short-term wins, while simultaneously helping me to maintain a focus on my long-term interests, values, and goals, such as attending a prestigious university. As a result of my encounter with this teacher, my academic performance skyrocketed, and I began to view academics as a way to experience personal fulfillment. However elementary this may sound, I believe that my ideal supervisor within the legal profession should utilize the same core leadership strategies as my high school teacher.
Upon graduating from law school, I hope to have the privilege to work for a supervising senior partner in a law firm who will take the time to get to know me, my idiosyncrasies, and my values. Ideally, this partner would pursue a long-term mentoring relationship with me in which they would impart time-honored wisdom, while encouraging me to be true to my own values even in the workplace. That is to say, my ideal manager would practice the affiliative style of leadership. I respect a leader or manager that has experienced personal success, but I would hope that they would not attempt to use their own personal heroics as a primary strategy with which to inspire others. Such a strategy is commonly referred to as pacesetting, and would not be particularly motivating to me. The issue of creating short-term wins for followers to celebrate is a key strategy for helping employees maintain motivation. In the legal world, I would hope that my employer would encourage and praise me for such short-term successes as passing the bar exam or winning my first case. John Kotter has described the notion of short term wins as a key practice of successful leaders in terms of maintaining motivation over the long-run.
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/pdcoutts/leadership/Kotter.htm
Thus, while leaders can choose to pursue any number of different strategies to motivate their followers, I consider the affiliative style of leadership, along with the creation of short-term wins for employees, to be among the most important practices that leaders can cultivate, whether they are senior partners in a law firm or leaders in virtually any other field. Leaders can chose to adopt narrow and rigid leadership strategies, but in doing so they risk the alienation of a large number of their followers. However, maintaining a flexible and relationship-centered approach has the greatest potential to allow leaders to reach the greatest number of followers.
I consider myself a highly motivated individual. One may go so far as to say that I am a classic overachiever. However, this was not always so. In my freshman year of high school I had a teacher who regularly set aside time to meet with me to discuss my personal development outside the classroom. This particular teacher was not accustomed to this kind of one-on-one mentoring approach. However, she recognized that this was something that was important to me personally, and was willing to be flexible and adjust her leadership style accordingly. When I performed well on various tasks, the teacher helped me to stay motivated by encouraging me to celebrate those short-term wins, while simultaneously helping me to maintain a focus on my long-term interests, values, and goals, such as attending a prestigious university. As a result of my encounter with this teacher, my academic performance skyrocketed, and I began to view academics as a way to experience personal fulfillment. However elementary this may sound, I believe that my ideal supervisor within the legal profession should utilize the same core leadership strategies as my high school teacher.
Upon graduating from law school, I hope to have the privilege to work for a supervising senior partner in a law firm who will take the time to get to know me, my idiosyncrasies, and my values. Ideally, this partner would pursue a long-term mentoring relationship with me in which they would impart time-honored wisdom, while encouraging me to be true to my own values even in the workplace. That is to say, my ideal manager would practice the affiliative style of leadership. I respect a leader or manager that has experienced personal success, but I would hope that they would not attempt to use their own personal heroics as a primary strategy with which to inspire others. Such a strategy is commonly referred to as pacesetting, and would not be particularly motivating to me. The issue of creating short-term wins for followers to celebrate is a key strategy for helping employees maintain motivation. In the legal world, I would hope that my employer would encourage and praise me for such short-term successes as passing the bar exam or winning my first case. John Kotter has described the notion of short term wins as a key practice of successful leaders in terms of maintaining motivation over the long-run.
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/pdcoutts/leadership/Kotter.htm
Thus, while leaders can choose to pursue any number of different strategies to motivate their followers, I consider the affiliative style of leadership, along with the creation of short-term wins for employees, to be among the most important practices that leaders can cultivate, whether they are senior partners in a law firm or leaders in virtually any other field. Leaders can chose to adopt narrow and rigid leadership strategies, but in doing so they risk the alienation of a large number of their followers. However, maintaining a flexible and relationship-centered approach has the greatest potential to allow leaders to reach the greatest number of followers.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Kicking It Off
My name is Brett Walker and I would like to welcome you to my blog. I am a first-time blogger and hope that I can learn from this experience. I would love to know what you have to say about the subject matter that I will choose to explore. I will be organizing this blog based upon the subject of the legal profession with specific emphasis on international justice efforts. This is an area in which I am highly interested. However, I am fully aware of the fact that I currently possess very little substantive knowledge about the subject. I am an undergraduate and a prospective law student. I was raised in a devout Protestant home and have always aspired to incorporate my faith into every aspect of my life. I plan to attend law school in the future, and I hope that this blog can serve to foster my interest in this possible career path.
One particularly inspiring leader in the field of global justice is Mr. Gary Haugen. Haugen is President, CEO, and founder of the International Justice Mission (hereafter IJM), a non-profit international human rights agency that works to rescue victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression worldwide. Haugen, a Harvard-educated lawyer, founded IJM in 1997 in response to both his own experiences abroad and his contact with countless humanitarian aid workers and missionaries who had encountered cases of injustice. IJM's organizing mission is to provide legal aid and advocacy for victims of oppression. I consider Haugen to be an incredible leader because he has succeeded in mobilizing Evangelical Christians towards renewed social engagement, and has also brought about a resurgence in global and humanitarian focus within the legal profession.
Good leaders are said to be especially adept at reacting to the dynamics of their contemporary culture. Haugen has done just that. He has recognized that in the present era of globalization, the humanitarian legal field needed to expand towards a global network. By founding IJM, he has established a global nexus for lawyers and human rights workers to coordinate their efforts. Also, he was sensitive to the contemporary dynamics of the evangelical Christian sub-culture, and recognized that a large portion of the Evangelical population felt disconnected from social engagement, and would likely rally to support such an organization. Indeed, IJM has received tremendous support among Evangelicals since its founding.
Haugen can be said to exhibit some characteristics of both the religious and the economic archetypes of leadership that have emerged throughout history. With regard to the religious archetype, Haugen has sought to imbue IJM with meaning and significance. The concept of international justice as defined by IJM is biblical-based. His campaign for support of IJM has appealed largely to the consciences of Evangelical Christians, and IJM is portrayed as an organization that stands for authentic Christian values. With regard to the economic archetype of leadership, Haugen has stated that a widespread campaign to disseminate knowledge and information regarding issues of global justice must be a necessary aspect of IJM's function. Additionally, Haugen and IJM are attempting to provide victims of injustice with a robust livelihood in order to support themselves and their families economically in a market-dominated world.
Personally, I believe that Gary Haugen has been an inspiration to those who wish to apply their personal faith to every aspect of their lives, including their professional careers. The current philosophical debate surrounding lawyers has emphasized that in order for lawyers to be most effective, they must inhabit an amoral realm which subjects their own personal morals and beliefs to the interests of their clients. However, Gary Haugen has demonstrated that this need not be the case. Contemporary lawyers can choose to apply their faith and their professional skills simultaneously towards a worthy cause. Indeed, Gary Haugen and the International Justice Mission have demonstrated that faith-based morals and globalization are not mutually exclusive, and that lawyers in their professional lives need not inhabit an amoral vacuum.
One particularly inspiring leader in the field of global justice is Mr. Gary Haugen. Haugen is President, CEO, and founder of the International Justice Mission (hereafter IJM), a non-profit international human rights agency that works to rescue victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression worldwide. Haugen, a Harvard-educated lawyer, founded IJM in 1997 in response to both his own experiences abroad and his contact with countless humanitarian aid workers and missionaries who had encountered cases of injustice. IJM's organizing mission is to provide legal aid and advocacy for victims of oppression. I consider Haugen to be an incredible leader because he has succeeded in mobilizing Evangelical Christians towards renewed social engagement, and has also brought about a resurgence in global and humanitarian focus within the legal profession.
Good leaders are said to be especially adept at reacting to the dynamics of their contemporary culture. Haugen has done just that. He has recognized that in the present era of globalization, the humanitarian legal field needed to expand towards a global network. By founding IJM, he has established a global nexus for lawyers and human rights workers to coordinate their efforts. Also, he was sensitive to the contemporary dynamics of the evangelical Christian sub-culture, and recognized that a large portion of the Evangelical population felt disconnected from social engagement, and would likely rally to support such an organization. Indeed, IJM has received tremendous support among Evangelicals since its founding.
Haugen can be said to exhibit some characteristics of both the religious and the economic archetypes of leadership that have emerged throughout history. With regard to the religious archetype, Haugen has sought to imbue IJM with meaning and significance. The concept of international justice as defined by IJM is biblical-based. His campaign for support of IJM has appealed largely to the consciences of Evangelical Christians, and IJM is portrayed as an organization that stands for authentic Christian values. With regard to the economic archetype of leadership, Haugen has stated that a widespread campaign to disseminate knowledge and information regarding issues of global justice must be a necessary aspect of IJM's function. Additionally, Haugen and IJM are attempting to provide victims of injustice with a robust livelihood in order to support themselves and their families economically in a market-dominated world.
Personally, I believe that Gary Haugen has been an inspiration to those who wish to apply their personal faith to every aspect of their lives, including their professional careers. The current philosophical debate surrounding lawyers has emphasized that in order for lawyers to be most effective, they must inhabit an amoral realm which subjects their own personal morals and beliefs to the interests of their clients. However, Gary Haugen has demonstrated that this need not be the case. Contemporary lawyers can choose to apply their faith and their professional skills simultaneously towards a worthy cause. Indeed, Gary Haugen and the International Justice Mission have demonstrated that faith-based morals and globalization are not mutually exclusive, and that lawyers in their professional lives need not inhabit an amoral vacuum.
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