Since this episode drops on Veterans Day, we thought we would devote it to one of our nation’s most respected veterans. Dr. Robert M. Gates served in the Air Force, as director of the CIA, and then as Secretary of Defense to Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Around the release of his book, A Passion for Leadership, he joined us to talk about leadership, what makes a good leader, his own leadership style, and the leadership of the presidents he has served.
Since this episode drops on Veterans Day, we thought we would devote it to one of our nation’s most respected veterans. Robert M. Gates spent half a century of his life devoted to public service. He started his career in the Air Force before being recruited to the CIA, where he climbed the ranks to become the agency’s director under President George H. W. Bush, one of eight U.S. presidents Secretary Gates served throughout his illustrious career. In 2006 he became Secretary of Defense for George W. Bush, a job he continued for Barack Obama until 2011. He is the first person to hold that position for both Republican and Democratic administrations, a reflection of the esteem in which he is held on both sides of the political aisle. He talks about leadership, what makes a good leader, his own leadership style, and the leadership of the presidents he has served.
This conversation took place on January 28, 2016, at the LBJ Presidential Library, as part of the Tom Johnson Lecture Series.