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Leadership Lessons from A Christmas Carol

Guest Post: Ed Nelson, Baylor Law’s Director of Marketing & Communications


Charles Dicken’s 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, more commonly known simply as A Christmas Carol, is a perennial favorite of millions of people during the Christmas season. The story centers around Ebenezer Scrooge, a selfish and unlikable miser who hates Christmas. The story has been retold, reworked, and recreated dozens (or perhaps hundreds) of times in plays, movies, and books.

As we approach the Christmas holiday in 2020… I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at the valuable leadership lessons we can glean from this classic story:

Leadership Lessons from Christmas Past

We must constantly remind our students that good leaders learn from their mistakes and strive to not repeat them in the future. Babies don’t learn to walk without falling down, repeatedly. All of us, no matter how accomplished we are in our profession, have had to face failures, some of our own doing, some thrust upon us. Some of the best – and most memorable lessons we learn come from these mistakes and failures. In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge was forced to face the mistakes he had made and the opportunities that he had missed. In the end, he recognized that he could never change the past, but he had the opportunity to learn from his mistakes and ensure they were not repeated in the future. We must teach our law students to do the same. The past can’t be changed. But as Professor Walt Shelton shared recently, each of us should, on a regular basis, openly and honestly analyze our successes and failures and try to learn the lessons that each have to offer.

Leadership Lessons from Christmas Future

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that as humans, we have incredibly limited ability to predict future events. If we had been asked two or three years ago to predict how many of the nation’s law schools would be teaching their curriculum online during a pandemic – none of us would even come close to a correct prediction. None of us know with certainty what the future holds. The only thing certain about the future is uncertainty. With the rapidly changing circumstances, technology, and social mores in the world today, it is more important than ever that we train our law students to be proactive, flexible, and adaptable. Dean Teague has emphasized in recent posts the importance of training our students with grit and resilience. These are traits that can be learned – and implemented.  

Is your law school promoting a culture of empowerment and change? Are you focused on the future or stuck in the past doing the same things, in the same way, and surprised with the same outcomes? Scrooge didn’t just learn from his visit to Christmas Future, he was willing to adapt and make much-needed changes. If we take this even further, we can see that when he changed, he became someone who supported, encouraged, and empowered others to succeed. A wonderful change indeed!

Leadership Lessons from Christmas Present

As Scrooge learned, changing the future requires making difficult – and sometimes painful – changes in the present.

According to the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the legal profession is “buckling under the weight of stress, anxiety, substance use, and depression.” For many, the holiday season, rather than being a time of relaxation and reflection, simply amplifies already high stress levels. As if the legal profession wasn’t stressful enough, the holidays can increase pressures on your time and resources — shopping, baking, decorating, and entertaining, just to name a few. The spread of COVID-19 is adding to an already stressful time – and many of us are worried about how to celebrate the season without endangering ourselves or others. It can all be too much!

This Christmas season, carve some time out of your schedule to relax and recharge. Turn off your work email for a few days (or weeks!) and spend time some doing something you truly enjoy. Read a good book, focus on a favorite hobby, take some good long walks, or simply binge-watch a few sappy Hallmark Christmas Specials. 2021 will be here before we know it – and the demands on your time will resume. Model good mental health and wellness for your students this Holiday season.

From all of us here at Baylor Law’s Training Lawyers as Leaders Blog…  we wish you a wonderful holiday season.

Academia, Leadership

Webinar Invitation: “Law and Leadership: If You Build It, They Will Come”

By Ed Nelson

Topic

Live with Kellye & Ken: 4/1/19

“Law and Leadership: If You Build It, They Will Come”

Webinar Description

Join hosts, Deans Emeritus Kellye Testy (LSAC CEO) and Ken Randall (iLaw President), as they lead a live dialogue about the state of legal education.

Lawyers lead our country. Yet law schools traditionally have not trained their students for leadership. With both the roles of lawyers and the value of a law degree evolving, how should legal education adjust to educate capable and ethical lawyers? How can deans, administrators, and faculties not only successfully lead their own institutions but also reflect leadership models for students to emulate? What are the opportunities for students to gain leadership opportunities while in law school? A panel of five effective leaders and experts will explore how legal education should embrace the growing field of leadership. Professor Rhode’s seminal work – Lawyers as Leaders – provides an invaluable framework for the discussion.

Joining the discussion are:

• Dean Matthew Diller, Fordham
• Dean Garry Jenkins, Minnesota
• Professor Deborah Rhode, Stanford
• Dean Gordon Smith, Brigham Young
• Associate Dean Leah Teague, Baylor

This engaging one hour discussion will include a Q&A period at the end. The event will be recorded. If you register but cannot attend, you will receive a link to watch at a later time.

If you do not already have or do not wish to download the Zoom app, you may view the event through a browser by clicking the “Join from your browser” link when attempting to join the event.

Time

Monday, April 1, 2019 4:00 PM (Eastern Time – US and Canada)

REGISTER HERE

Academia, Leadership, Podcast

Podcast: The Need to Lead

By Ed Nelson

The State Bar of Texas Podcast – available on the Legal Talk Network – recently interviewed Leah Teague, associate dean at Baylor Law, about the importance of enhanced leadership training of future lawyers – and how many law schools are stepping up to the plate and revamping curricula and extra-curricular activities to make this a reality.

You can listen to this important message, here:

The Need to Lead: Revamping Legal Ed to Grow Better Leaders:
https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/state-bar-texas/2019/01/the-need-to-lead-revamping-legal-ed-to-grow-better-leaders/

State Bar of Texas Podcast

-EN