Greeted by applause, Laboratory Director Robert Kuckuck on Monday talked to Director's Development Program (DDP) participants about his views on leadership and answered related questions at a meeting in the Jemez Room of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center at Technical Area 3. Although Kuckuck just recently learned of the program, his perspective was that the Los Alamos DDP was one of the better ones, adding “and I designed the one at Livermore, so that is saying something.”
During his talk, Kuckuck said, “People are the strongest component of leadership.” He noted that it is important to truly listen to what individuals are telling you. “People know if you are listening or not. You really have to listen to make it effective,” he said. According to Kuckuck, watching body language and reading signals during interactions also are important.
He went on to mention that the best technical expert is not always the best manager. “I was not the best technical expert in all the areas I managed at Livermore … If you are on your way to being a good leader, you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you surround yourself with strong staff,” he said.
Kuckuck acknowledged that sometimes managing strong staff is more difficult given their equally strong opinions, but it “pays off” in the end. He also said it is important to give staff the deserved credit for their ideas and accomplishments. “You look better as a leader if the people around you succeed,” he said.
Good leaders, he asserted, are also open and credible. “In the end, you always come out on top by doing what is right,” he said.
In terms of his decision-making style, Kuckuck said he likes to lean toward a consensus, but not to the extreme. “It cannot go to an analysis/paralysis stage. I like buy-in, but absolute consensus is not a requirement,” he told DDP members.
Kuckuck also offered advice that specifically applied to being in leadership at a national lab, including “you can’t spin the truth,” don’t patronize staff and stay away from logical extreme arguments.
While speaking of his experiences at both Livermore and Los Alamos, he complimented the Lab on its educational initiatives, including the large number of students and mentors at Los Alamos, and its awards programs. “You have so much momentum in the value of science,” he said.
In terms of progress at the Lab, Kuckuck said 27 items for improvement have been identified, which small teams are trying to fix, and seven issues are near resolution. He vowed to continue his focus on “communication” with employees.
The Director's Development Program was started in 2003 and targets group level management and their potential for senior management roles. It is one part of the Lab's effort to foster leadership excellence by developing a succession management program for the Laboratory. The program is coordinated by Training and Development (HR-TD).
For more information about the Director’s Development Program, see the May 3 Daily Newsbulletin.
