Page 116 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

LEADERS HAVE PASSION

Laboratories, where he developed the liquid-crystal display technology that
would lead to today’s flat-screen televisions and computer monitors, among
other things. However, a few years later Heilmeier had to rethink his career
path. “I had become disillusioned by the slow progress in commercializa-
tion of our discoveries at RCA, and I needed a change,” Heilmeier
explained. “I had lost my passion and excitement for liquid-crystal display
work, and it is my view that when your passion and excitement for work
in a specific technical field leaves you, you should leave the field with it. I
left RCA Laboratories to serve what I thought would be a one-year term
as a White House Fellow.”
At the end of Heilmeier’s Fellowship in the Defense Department, he
was asked to stay on as an assistant director for the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and it wasn’t long before the word
assistant was removed from his title and he was running the place. “That
was the best job I ever had because I was working with people who were
really, really passionate. They were like entrepreneurs,” Heilmeier said.
“They had the interest and the drive and the intelligence to really make
things happen.” Under his directorship, Heilmeier’s team created the first
stealth aircraft, an accomplishment that required great tenacity, teamwork,
and faith. “Those were some of the most rewarding years of my profes-
sional career, and I learned some powerful lessons that I carry with me to
this day,” Heilmeier said. “I learned that you must practice ‘no excuses’
management. That means that you must remove all of the bureaucratic
impediments to success. ‘Breaking glass’ and going around the bureaucracy
can be done if you believe in your cause and refuse to quit. And I learned
that your best memories will be those that center on hard work and sacri-
fice with a great team that’s totally passionate about the mission of the orga-
nization. Money rewards are irrelevant in situations like this. It’s about
passion, and it’s why I’ll never fully retire.”
Like George Heilmeier, I feel blessed to have found and followed my
true purpose and passion in life. We’re not alone, George and I. Every-
where I look, I see others who have managed to do the same, and they’re
reaping the rewards. You can spot a passionate leader from a mile away:
She’s the one with the spring in her step, a smile on her face, and an enthu-
siastic, productive team by her side. Perhaps her passion is serving her
country as a military, law enforcement, journalism, or political leader. Or
maybe she’s a teacher aspiring to be a principal whose dream is to lead

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