From the Yld President
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 0010 |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 6 Pg. 0010 |
From the YLD President
ELISSA B. HAYNES
YLD President
State Bar of Georgia
elissa.haynes@fmglaw.com
Lessons in Leadership
In late December 2019, I made one of the most adult decisions I had made at the time—the decision to leave my law firm after four and a half years and after making partner. And while I do not typically believe in "signs from the universe," so to speak, shortly after making my decision, I came across a quote that I have tried to carry with me over the years and one that rings especially true today: "Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Joy is a choice. Choose well." —Ann Voskamp.
Those closest to me know that this year has been a struggle for me—both personally and professionally. From the death of my grandfather (who, aside from me, was the last living relative on my father's side of the family), to battling anxiety and depression, trying to navigate a rapidly growing book of business with little support at a previous law firm, leading the Young Lawyers Division, attempting some semblance of a "work/life balance," starting a new job and most recently, to the sudden loss of my German Shorthaired Pointer, Abita. To quote the Grateful Dead, "[w]hat a long, strange trip it's been."
Towards the end of my YLD presidency year, I often joked that I was, in my mind, the worst YLD president. When I started my climb up the YLD leadership ladder four years ago, I had several ideas and goals for what I wanted to accomplish. I was like a little kid who wanted to change the world. For many, it will come as no surprise to learn that I am the epitome of a "Type A" personality—competitive, a planner, impatient, a perfectionist and a workaholic. For as long as I can remember, I have always placed an unreasonable amount of stress on myself, and I would convince myself that I just worked better under pressure. And when things did not always go exactly as I had meticulously planned, I would inevitably feel an immense sense of failure.
Over the past four years, I have grown more than I could have ever imagined as a lawyer, leader and person. And while I still consider myself Type A, I have slowly tried to take a step back to focus not on the things I was unable to accomplish this year, but on everything the YLD did accomplish—whether planned or by happenstance. With that, I want to take this opportunity to share a small sampling of what the...
To continue reading
Request your trial