August 2007

WSBA Leadership Institute

Tales from the WSBA Leadership Institute: Leadership and Values

by Stan Bastian

The WSBA Leadership Institute (WLI) gives students, known as fellows, access to our Bar's leaders. Stan Bastian's essay is but one example of a perspective on leadership that can be gained through the WLI's leadership skills-building curriculum.

Bellevue attorney Marijean Moschetto called last April and asked me to write a short essay on the relationship between leadership and values. To be honest, I didn't really want to do it. I was already busy enough balancing my legal practice, family responsibilities, and duties as WSBA president-elect. Where would I find the time for this project? More importantly, I was intimidated by the subject matter, because I had never given it much thought. I am not very philosophical by nature and this topic seemed beyond my expertise. But Ms. Moschetto can be very persuasive (she is, after all, a good leader) and she was eventually able to convince me to give it a try. She then told me that the deadline was only a few weeks away. No doubt, this example of strategically withholding critical information was also a display of her leadership skills.

I soon warmed up to the subject and began to make a list of values that I have observed in leaders from my life. I used as examples other lawyers who I have either admired for some reason or who have been mentors to me. I didn't have to look too far. In addition to Ms. Moschetto, I had plenty of examples, including my senior partners Gar Jeffers and Jim Danielson; both are experienced, skilled, and busy lawyers who have spent countless hours mentoring me to become a better lawyer. Additionally, I have been fortunate to know some fine leaders working with the WSBA, including the other governors and officers who have served with me over the last three years. In my opinion, these leaders all share similar values, although they may exhibit them in different ways. Individual leaders have their own characteristics and styles, but when those differences are stripped away, these similarities remain.

Priorities. Leaders identify the goal early and stay focused on achieving it. They recognize that adjustments may be necessary along the way, but the end goal is always in sight. Leaders admit and learn from their own mistakes, and they make thoughtful and timely decisions even under stress. When practicing law, leaders know that resolving the client's legal trouble is the lawyer's primary concern. A good lawyer does not use the client primarily as a vehicle to showcase their talents in the courtroom or earn a big fee. Those collateral benefits will come naturally.

Courage. Practicing law and representing clients requires a measure of courage. It is not always easy or expedient to take a hard case and fight a difficult legal battle. Good lawyers and leaders don't back down in the face of adversity, but are willing to compromise when necessary. Most importantly, good lawyers know how to compromise. Both good lawyers and good leaders have courage to address the challenge, whether they admit it or not.

Preparation. Leaders are prepared. They investigate the facts, interview the witnesses, read the documents, research the law, and double-check the citations in their legal briefs. They read the court rules and know which ones apply to their case. They don't expect the judge or court clerks to do their work for them. They have their case prepared and ready. Leaders are prompt and meet deadlines for timely filing of lawsuits, pleadings, discovery deadlines, and scheduled court appearances.

Balance. Leaders recognize that maintaining good physical and mental health is essential to a successful law practice. They devote adequate time to personal and family interests. Leaders give proper credit and recognition to others on the team such as partners, associates, paralegals, and secretaries. They help train new lawyers and inspire others with their ideas, vision, and dedication.

Truth and Integrity. Last May I attended a seminar in Richland on the federal civil rules where the keynote speaker was former United States Attorney John McKay. His topic was ethics and his message was very simple. According to Mr. McKay an ethical leader always has three goals: (1) telling the truth, (2) seeking the truth, and (3) practicing law with integrity. It can't be said any better or more simply than that.

There is nothing official about this essay. These are simply my observations from the point of view of a trial lawyer practicing in a small town on the east side of the state. The list might be different if written from the perspective of a lawyer just out of law school, or a lawyer with a different type of practice than mine. These are my thoughts and I welcome your input. Beware, though, comments from readers may be the subject of one of my upcoming President's columns in Bar News. 

If you find this essay on leadership and access to leaders like Stan Bastian inspiring, you are encouraged to apply to become a WLI fellow. Or perhaps you know of someone who would make a good leader and benefit from this remarkable program. For applications and more information, visit www.wsba.org/-lawyers/leadership_institute.htm.

Stan Bastian is a former public defender for the City of Renton and prosecutor for the City of Seattle, and is a shareholder in the Wenatchee and Moses Lake firm of Jeffers, Danielson, Sonn & Aylward, P.S. His practice focuses on civil litigation, employment law, labor negotiations, and insurance defense. He was elected to the office of WSBA governor for District 4 in 2004. He now serves as WSBA president-elect, and will assume the office of WSBA president this fall.

Tales from the WSBA Leadership Institute: The Truth About Robert's Rules of Order

by Ann G. Macfarlane

After 35 years of active involvement in nonprofit boards and voluntary organizations, I believe that Robert's Rules of Order is like democracy. Readers may recall Winston Churchill's famous dictum: "Democracy is the worst system of government in all the world, with the exception of those other systems that have been tried from time to time." Similarly, I have to say that Robert's Rules of Order is a terrible book. It is too long (704 pages!), too complicated, and badly organized. Unfortunately, it is also indispensable. In other words, we're stuck with it. Approximately 90 percent of the voluntary organizations in this country use Robert's as the authority for their meetings. Properly applied and used, parliamentary procedure and Robert's Rules can be the key to great meetings.

I've had the privilege of sharing some of General Robert's kernels of excellence with the 2006 and 2007 WSBA Leadership Institute classes. My experience of the dozen up-and-coming leaders selected as fellows is that they are sharp, lively, and willing to take a risk. It was great fun, on a Saturday last January, to offer them the opportunity to play around with Robert's.  This article describes some of the topics that we covered in "Jurassic Parliament," a humorous introduction to parliamentary procedure using toy dinosaurs and Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Edition.

Leading a meeting successfully requires mastering a paradox

A person who is leading a meeting of a voluntary organization is placed in a highly paradoxical situation. On the one hand, since human beings are social primates, anyone at the head of a room is in one sense the most important person in that room. A meeting takes its tenor, its emotional tone, from the leader. If the presider shows up late and confused, dropping papers and not quite certain about the agenda, the participants will begin to worry that they're not going to have a good meeting. If the presider is rigid and dogmatic, insisting that everyone pay attention and glaring at the person whose cell phone goes off, participants will feel as if they were being treated as school children and become restive. In preparing for any meeting, it is essential for the presider to look to herself and prepare internally, in addition to all the ordinary administrative preparations.

At the same time, in another sense, the person leading a meeting is the least important person in the room. The leader is there as the servant of the group, to help the group determine what it wants to do. This is made dramatically clear in the rule that for a large group, the presider will not even vote, but will serve strictly as a facilitator. Putting one's own views and opinions aside in order to assist the group to find its way isn't easy for the determined, achieving Type-A individuals who usually get elected president of boards and organizations. And yet this is what a presider is called upon to do.

A presider must be strict on process — a benevolent dictator

One of the most important roles of any presider is to enforce the rules of discussion. The WSBA Bylaws state, for instance, that a member may speak only once on a given topic. If a member starts to speak a second time, the president must cut him off. More harm is done by wishy-washy presidents, who allow extroverted members and old-timers to dominate discussion, than by tyrannical presidents. A group will eventually rise up against a tyrant, but a wishy-washy presider is pitied for weakness; meetings muddle along, wasting the time of all concerned.

The most ignored rule in all of Robert's

If your group has bylaws like the WSBA's, discussions can be short (if not sweet). It's rare for bylaws or rules of order to allow members to speak only once, however, and therefore discussion in many settings becomes repetitive and unproductive. People hash over the same positions and the quiet types sit in the corner, wishing that the meeting were over. (This is particularly true in committee meetings or other less-formal settings.) One simple rule, the most ignored in all of Robert's, can improve the situation: "No one may speak twice until everyone who wishes to do so has spoken once." How much time would be saved if this rule were widely accepted and applied! When everyone in a meeting has the chance to give an opinion, frequently it becomes perfectly clear what the group wants to do. Debate is shortened, a vote confirms the outcome, and the group can go on to its next agenda item.

Applications are now available for the 2008 WSBA Leadership Institute. If I am invited to offer these thoughts to the next class, it will be a pleasure to throw toy dinosaurs around the room and share some of the paradoxes that make Robert's Rules of Order, despite its faults, an excellent guide for a voluntary organization. I hope to see you there!
 
You are encouraged to apply to become a WLI fellow — or nominate someone you know who would benefit from this remarkable program. To learn the qualifications and for applications, see www.wsba.org/-lawyers/leadership_institute.htm.

Ann G. Macfarlane is a partner in ERGA, an association management firm. She presented "Jurassic Parliament" to the 2006 and 2007 WLI classes. She is a registered parliamentarian and a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians and the American Institute of Parliamentarians. She can be reached at ann@jurassicparliament.com.