Dr. No #46 — The Best Leaders Don’t Just Lead. They Infect.

Hey lawyer,

This week’s issue is about real leadership.

Not the performative kind. Not the micromanaging kind. Not the “circle back next quarter” kind.

We’re talking about the kind that makes smart people stick around, step up, and give a damn.

Straight from PayPal’s founding days, courtesy of Max Levchin — a CTO who didn’t want to manage, but ended up building one of the most influential teams in tech history.

Let’s get into it.

1. Food for Thought

What would your team say if asked, “What’s the one thing your boss actually stands for?”

If they don’t know… maybe you’ve made being “available” a priority instead of being anchored.

2. Book Insight — Max Levchin’s Leadership Notes (LinkedIn, 2015)

Max co-founded PayPal and Affirm. He was allergic to management… until his company forced him to grow up.

Here’s what he learned the hard way:

• Enthusiasm Is Contagious.
  If you don’t believe in your mission, why should anyone else? Real leadership = infecting others with your future.

• Hard Calls Are the Job.
  The decisions that keep you up at night? That’s leadership. Indecision is the fastest way to lose your best people.

• Impress Up, But Also Down.
  Surround yourself with people you want to impress — your team included. You’ll raise your standards instantly.

• Lead from the Front.
  Pulling an all-nighter? Stay with the team. Doing layoffs? Face them. Be seen in the hard moments. Credibility doesn’t scale — it’s earned.

• Know Your Team’s Dreams.
  Sit down with each team member and ask:

  • What do you want in 1, 3, 5 years?
    Then help them get there. It’s not soft stuff. It’s strategy.

• Find People’s Edge.
  Peter Thiel (also PayPal) had a superpower: identifying people’s weird brilliance and putting it where it mattered. Do that.

TL;DR?
You don’t need a team of unicorns. You need a leader who unlocks performance — even from difficult or eccentric talent.

That’s you.

3. Mental Model – The Authority Paradox
Munger logic with a leadership twist.

The less you use formal authority, the more you gain real influence.

Want power? Start with persuasion.
Make your team want to follow, not have to.

It’s not the org chart that makes you the boss. It’s the clarity, conviction, and consistency.

4. AI Booster – Lindy
Build AI agents to automate repetitive workflows (yes, even legal ones).

Think:

• Automating playbook updates

• Summarising DD memos

• Creating task-follow-up bots for your team

If you’ve ever said, “we should delegate this”…
Lindy lets you delegate to software that doesn’t ask for equity, holidays, or feedback.

5. Quote to Reflect
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
— Carl Jung

P.S. Your team doesn’t need a hero. They need a catalyst.

At Ámbar, we help GCs turn legal departments into value machines.

• Need senior firepower for tough calls?
• Bidding projects that require seniority and industry expertise?
• Sensitive investigations where neutrality and confidentiality matters?
• Environmental and regulatory legal issues that need fresh air (and less baggage)?
• Or just want access to the best legal minds — without hiring headaches?

We’ve built the world’s go-to network of highly vetted, tech-enabled, independently brilliant lawyers.

Plug in. Scale up. Lead smart.

Let’s talk:

Until next week,
Dr. No