Michael Brown

Managing Director, Defense Innovation Unit

Brown has a little constructive feedback for the federal government and its philosophies on leadership. The director of the Silicon Valley-based Defense Innovation Unit first joined government as a Presidential Innovation Fellow in 2016. Before that, he was the CEO of Symantec. “The federal government needs to place a higher value on leadership and management as a best practice which should be measured and rewarded,” he told FedScoop, when asked what he thinks the government can do to develop more leadership talent. “My experience thus far shows that there is a greater emphasis on compliance and specialized expertise rather than excellence in leading people.” What does Brown say leaders should focus on instead? “Good leadership is assembling the best team, setting clear direction with measurement, ensuring there is sufficient process for repeatable outcomes and creating an environment (culture) for that team to do its best work,” he said.