Robert McDonald, secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, spoke to a crowd of Syracuse University students, faculty and staff on Wednesday about leadership and veterans experiences.

The speech took place in Maxwell Auditorium and was largely geared toward students in the master of public affairs program in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The former CEO and chairman of Procter & Gamble Co. outlined his leadership style to a filled-to-capacity audience inside the auditorium. McDonald emphasized principle-based leadership, rather than rule-based leadership.

After 33 years of working for P&G, McDonald said it was important to move to an organization with similar values. The Veterans Affairs (VA) operates on a system called “I CARE,” or Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence. P&G also uses integrity, McDonald added.

McDonald said he operates on a personal mission and belief system that he uses to craft his goals. During his speech, he talked about the eight goals he is currently using to transform the VA.

When discussing his No. 5 leadership trait — “character is the most important trait of a leader” — McDonald shared a story with the audience about his time at the U.S. Military Academy.

McDonald said when his appearance or actions were questioned, he would reply with: “I do not understand, sir.” What McDonald said he should have answered with is also a good leadership trait: “No excuse, sir.” He said this implies that it will not happen again.

Although he told it to an audience laughing at his impressions of his younger self, this anecdote was McDonald’s way of saying a leader must put the needs of an organization before his or her own and accept responsibility for the results.

One attendee questioned how easy it is to place an organization’s needs above his own. She asked how this policy works alongside his family.

McDonald said his family is an organization too. He added that his wife often works with him and helps him promote the values behind the organization.

On numerous occasions, McDonald expressed his desire to transform the VA so veterans want to be customers. He said organizations have to be adaptable, and diverse groups of people are more innovative than homogeneous groups.

Another attendee asked him about the potential to privatize VA health care.

McDonald suggested that an ideal system would work in conjunction with the private sector. Currently, McDonald said about 20 percent of appointments are conducted by the private sector.

The talk concluded with McDonald’s eighth and final leadership belief: the true test of a leader is how the organization performs after the leader leaves.

After taking questions from the audience, McDonald gave his email to students with an offer to help them develop their own leadership goals and beliefs.

John Lowman, a graduate student in the public affairs program, said his biggest takeaway from the talk was inspiration to develop goals for himself and figure out how to apply them to future jobs.

“The whole key of the MPA program is leadership,” Lowman said. “We’re not going to be managers, we’re going to learn how to manage in the idea of moving in a direction, developing cultures, making organizations better.”

Published on July 20, 2016 at 4:57 pm

Contact Rachel: rcgilber@syr.edu