Page 199 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

THE LESSONS

Harvey now spends his time serving on a variety of corporate boards.
He also keeps in touch with many of the soldiers he met at hospitals and
bases during his tenure as Secretary of the Army. “Our nation’s greatest
treasure is the American soldier, and I was fortunate to have been able to
serve them,” Harvey said. “The last line of the Warrior Ethos is ‘I will never
leave a fallen comrade.’ On that, I did not compromise. When the news-
papers stop printing and the cameras stop rolling, standing on principle is
what leaders—true leaders—do. Just as our warriors demonstrate every
day in the face of hostile fire and other dangers, they do not wither under
pressure, nor do they ‘cave,’ even when personal costs or their reputation
is involved. True leaders must demonstrate through their actions that they
will stand up for their principles, that they will rise above outside pressures,
that they will make informed and not impulsive decisions, and that they
will be held personally accountable for their decisions.”
One who also did not compromise his principles in the face of mount-
ing pressure to do otherwise was President Ronald Reagan. In the early
months of his presidency in 1981, nearly 13,000 of the country’s air traffic
controllers went on strike after months of negotiations between their union
and the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). The controllers, who were federal
employees, had complained for years about the way the FAA managed
them and were demanding better benefits, wages, and working conditions
as well as a decrease in hours. The government’s stance was simple: It was
not going to give more pay in exchange for fewer hours worked. When
negotiations between the union and the government hit an impasse, the
workers—in violation of federal law—walked off their jobs and went on
strike, an act that threatened to shut down the nation’s air transportation
system.
Robert “Bud” McFarlane (WHF 71–72) was serving as counselor to
the State Department at that time; it would be another two years before
he became President Reagan’s national security advisor. McFarlane recalled
that there was a great deal of disagreement in the White House about how
to handle the pending strike, with President Reagan standing practically
alone against his closest advisors. “There was a cabinet meeting before the
strike, and President Reagan said he didn’t think we could tolerate a union
breaking the law. He said the controllers were acting irresponsibly and
putting Americans at risk, and he said he was going to have to fire them
all,” McFarlane recalled. “Most of his cabinet said, ‘Don’t do that; it is

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