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.