The Learning Law Department

I've written about the importance of having a "teaching" law department, but equally necessary is the development of a "learning" law department. By that I mean a team that is open-minded enough to seek lessons and ideas from everyone.

A few years ago, a rather retiring colleague came to my office, and made a very good case why our intended course of action was wrong-headed. The planned action was entirely my idea, so he was concerned that I might take offense. In fact, I deeply appreciated being told how and why we were going off course. Too often management of a team becomes a monologue, but I strive to build teams where dialogue reigns.

When the excitement of a goal or an idea transcends egos, that's when a learning enterprise is born.

This process starts in the quote from Thomas Carlyle, "Every man is my superior in that I may learn from him." Every day I go to work, I learn something new from my colleagues, and I hope that, on occasion, they might even learn something from me.