Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024 - 15

FEATURE
people who are also lawyers, " she says. " The time is flying by. There are
a lot of conversations with people. And through those conversations, I'm
learning about myself. "
During one of the personal assessment exercises, the participants filled
out a circular social identity map. In the first circle they jotted down identities
of their core selves - for example, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
family history, and place of origin. In the second circle they
wrote down their chosen roles, including profession, marital status, parental
status, and other personal and professional affiliations. And, lastly, in
the outer circle they added identities that have been bestowed on them,
such as leader.
As the day went on, Steele and Spivey evaluated the attendees based on
their behaviors during the exercises. " Throughout the day, they are building
a case for who they are, " Spivey explains. Eventually, the participants
were divided into work groups or " home teams. "
" The people in the attendees' home team became their professional family, "
says Dennis Cuevas, director of the D.C. Bar CLE Program, which administers
the academy. " We encourage people to share a lot of things
about themselves with their home teams so that they can connect with
one another. "
NEW CLASS, NEW ENERGY
The 2024 Leadership Academy ran from April to June and consisted
of in-person sessions; a visit to the D.C. Court of Appeals, where they
watched an oral argument and met Chief Judge Anna BlackburneRigsby;
and volunteer work at the Immigration Legal Advice & Referral
Clinic or the Advice & Referral Clinic. There were also " developmental
sprints, " which involved peer-to-peer professional coaching.
Explaining why the academy
is spread over three
months, Cuevas says the
leadership program is
" a journey as opposed
to a quick three days of
training. "
" We feel like people get
the most out of it if they
are not drinking from a firehose,
in which they are presented
with so much information
to digest so quickly, "
he says. " With so much selfawareness
and self-reflection
involved with the academy,
sometimes that takes a
period of time to really crystalize
in the attendees. "
The D.C. Bar also brought
on new facilitators -
Steele, Spivey, and
Robert Demaree of Next
Step Leadership Coaching,
LLC. Cuevas learned about
Steele and Spivey at a leadership training in 2023 in Greensboro, North
Carolina, conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership. " Having gone
through that program, I realized they do an excellent job of getting people
to reflect on themselves, " he says. " You are constantly writing in a
journal, thinking about various leadership issues or challenges that you
might have. What resonated with me was this self-reflection, leaving the
program with a better understanding of myself. " Cuevas says the D.C. Bar
wanted to provide the same experience to this year's Leadership Academy
participants.
" Monique is an excellent public speaker, " Cuevas continues. " She's very
accessible, with the ability to put people at ease. When you have a lot of
self-reflection - the good, the bad, the ugly - you need someone who
you can trust to guide you into this unfamiliar territory. Some people do
not want to go down that road. "
Spivey is the ideal complement to Steele. " Imagine a kite flying in the
wind and [someone] is guiding it so it does not go off willy-nilly into the
sky, where they will then have to chase it down. I am the kite in that situation, "
Steele says. " And Darryl's the kite holder. "
" When someone reads, 'Do not push the red button,' I'm that person
who pushes the red button [to] see what happens, " Steele says. " Darryl
is the voice of reason. He asks very deep questions that you walk away
thinking about, to help you bring your thoughts together. "
Spivey acknowledges that he's always been a logical thinker, and Steele
challenges that. " She does that by asking questions and making me think
of new things, which makes me better in the classroom. It makes me
show up differently, " he says. " When you grow into becoming a leader,
you have to be willing to forego being comfortable all the time. "
STORIES OF
TRANSFORMATION
Over the past decade, and
even during the pandemic,
the Leadership Academy
proved effective and transformative
in developing
emerging leaders and burnishing
existing ones.
Sadina Montani, a partner at
Crowell & Moring LLP, credits
the academy for helping to
mold her as a leader, allowing
her to identify her
strengths and weaknesses
while learning how other
people use their respective
professional and personal
traits to tackle similar challenges.
Montani says the
academy also gave her a
broader view of the legal
profession and, most importantly,
a valuable network of
attorneys to tap into.
Interactive exercises guided participants in understanding who they are as leaders.
JULY/AUGUST 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 15
Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024

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