The Army has taught me guiding principles by which I continue to operate as a civilian now. It has engrained in me that leadership is about accountability and responsibility, not about privilege; accepting failure to meet a standard creates a new, lower standard; and that the perfect need not be the enemy of the good.

 In the Army, it is axiomatic: when in charge, be in charge. That principle has informed my law practice. If you are responsible for a project, a matter, or a client, then you are also responsible for ensuring that tasks performed by others are completed on time and to the appropriate standard. If someone has consistently demonstrated their expertise and high quality of work, then you should be able to delegate to that person and trust his or her judgment. But that trust should be verified by appropriate supervision; one of my commanders, now the adjutant general of the Georgia Army National Guard, was fond of saying that “doers do what checkers check.”

The firm’s emphasis on collaboration, in helping one another to achieve excellence, reminds me of the best parts of my service. My military service taught me that responsibility for failures should never be shifted onto the people you supervise, and that the credit for a success should be shared with the whole team.