“The key leadership lessons I learned in the Navy are these: Take care of your people. Listen. Commit to building the culture and making your contribution. Organizations are full of moments that involve three acts: keeping the good, letting go of the things that are no longer relevant or that haven’t proved enduring, and then embracing the new things.”
W. Scott Gould is deputy secretary in the Department of Veteran Affairs. He honed his leadership skills in the Navy, at IBM, and in the federal departments of treasury and commerce. He is focused on developing a service-based culture to improve access to health care, education, and jobs for returning soldiers of all generations.