February 6, 2017 

MEMORANDUM TO: Chairman Svinicki 

 Commissioner Baran 

 Commissioner Burns 

FROM: Victor M. McCree /RA/ 

 Executive Director for Operations 

SUBJECT: RE-EXAMINATION OF THE NEED FOR A U.S. NUCLEAR 

REGULATORY COMMISSION LEADERSHIP MODEL 

 

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Commission the staff’s re-examination of the 

need for an U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) leadership model in response to the 

June 8, 2015, Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) SRM-SECY-15-0015: Project Aim 2020 

Report and Recommendations, Item I-3.a (Agencywide Document Access and Management 

System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML15159A234) and the staff’s recommendation. 

Staff recommendation I-3.a, stated the following: 

Develop or adopt an explicit NRC leadership model (or leadership philosophy) 

that builds on the agency’s existing culture (Principles of Good Regulation and 

Organizational Values) and supports agility, to include empowering employees 

by promoting personal responsibility and accountability along with creative 

thinking, innovation, and informed risk-taking in all of our activities. Refine the 

NRC Organizational Values to incorporate those values necessary to support 

organizational agility or clarify that they are already included under the existing 

values. 

The Commission response to recommendation I-3.a, was as follows: 

The Commission disapproved recommendation I-3.a, and does not support the 

development of a separate NRC leadership model or modifying the NRC 

Organizational Values. Rather than developing a separate NRC leadership 

model, the Commission believes that effective decision-making can be achieved 

by focusing on the Principles of Good Regulation and the Organizational Values 

and the Behavior Matters campaign. Specifically, the staff should focus 

attention on those characteristics of the Principles of Good Regulation and 

Organizational Values that support empowerment and feeling a sense of 

Contact: Tamara Bloomer, OEDO 

 301-415-1785 

PLEASE RESPOND BY:

February 21, 2017

COMSECY-17-0006
The Commissioners -2- 

personal responsibility and accountability through creative thinking, innovation, 

and informed risk-taking in all of our activities. In addition, the staff should 

return to this concept and re-examine whether this concept is a separate 

undertaking or is an organizational outgrowth of progress on the other 

recommendations and report to the Commission on whether this concept is, in 

the staff's view, still needed and if so, what form it would take. 

This memorandum reports to the Commission on the staff’s reexamination of this concept and 

requests Commission approval to develop and implement an explicit NRC leadership model. 

Discussion: 

The central theme of Project Aim was the need for NRC to be more effective, efficient, and 

agile. As documented in the monthly Project Aim status reports, the agency has made 

significant progress implementing the specific strategies approved by the Commission. In 

addition, consistent with the SRM, the staff has reexamined the need for an NRC leadership 

model. 

The staff’s reexamination included an assessment of insights from the Behavior Matters 

Campaign, the 2015 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), and the 2015 OIG Safety 

Culture and Climate Survey as well as a thorough literature review of organizational culture and 

leadership. The assessment revealed opportunities to enhance our performance in the area of 

employee engagement by clarifying expectations regarding decision-making, empowerment, 

and consensus. It also highlighted the need to improve our approaches to leverage employee 

creativity and facilitate informed risk-taking and innovation. 

Several notable research organizations have extensively examined what makes highperforming, agile organizations. Gallup’s (2013)1 report finds that organizations in the upper 

quartile of employee engagement have significantly higher productivity (+21%), fewer safety 

incidents (-42%), and fewer quality defects (-41%) in their products, compared to organizations 

in the bottom quartile. Moreover, many of the same cultural characteristics that drive employee 

engagement also help drive agility. Among these characteristics are higher levels of employee 

empowerment, innovation, and receptiveness to new ideas and views. The CEB Corporate 

Leadership Council’s (2014)2 report finds that the hallmarks of agility are empowerment, 

innovation, and collaboration. The Institute for Corporate Productivity’s (2014)3 report finds that 

organizations that embrace innovation, transparency, creativity, diversity, and collaboration are 

ten times more likely to be agile. The NRC’s FEVS (2015)4 results also show that we need to 

 

1 Gallup, (2013), State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business 

Leaders, Washington D.C., Gallup, Inc. 

2 CEB Corporate Leadership Council (2014), Driving Workforce Agility in the Public Sector Agile: 

Strategies for an Uncertain Environment, © 2014 CEB. All Rights reserved. GOV8102314SYN 

3 Institute for Corporate Productivity, (2014), The Secret Formula for Organizational Agility – AnI4cp 

Report 

4 U. S. Office of Personnel Management, (2015), Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results, Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission Agency Management report 2015, Washington D.C., U. S. Office of Personnel 

Management 
The Commissioners -3- 

improve in these areas. Additionally, according to the 2016 FEVS5 results 54% of NRC’s 

employees feel personally empowered with respect to how they do their work; 62% are satisfied 

with their involvement in decisions affecting their work; and only 47% feel that innovation is 

rewarded. These scores are lower than the 2015 FEVS scores and suggest that the 

characteristics of agility and high performance can be further enhanced. 

The staff’s re-examination also showed that a leadership model is an inherent part of an 

organization’s culture and affects how people think, how they view their leaders, and ultimately 

how they behave and make decisions. A leadership model can emerge implicitly within an 

organization through the actions and behaviors of people, usually compelled by their beliefs, 

assumptions, role models, and experience. Alternatively, an organization can explicitly define 

its leadership model, incorporating a set of clear values and principles to guide how people 

should carry out their work. The book The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for 

Superior Performance (Worley et. al)6, states that the form leadership takes is especially 

important in achieving agility, and that a common philosophy of shared leadership at all levels of 

the organization is necessary. The book The Human Organization: Its Management and Value 

(Likert)7, correlates organizational performance to different “systems” of leadership and those 

organizations having the highest productivity were those organizations in which there is higher 

empowerment, more teamwork and collaboration, and employees participate in the decisionmaking. While an implicit leadership model, such as that which exists within NRC may have 

successes, over time an explicit model provides a more inclusive, reliable, durable and flexible 

leadership framework to drive improved and sustainable organizational performance. 

On November 7, 2016, I held a Strategic Leadership Meeting (SLM) with all Office Directors and 

Regional Administrators. Among the major topics discussed during this meeting was the value 

of creating an explicit NRC leadership model. Prior to the SLM, we drafted a set of 

characteristics of a potential NRC leadership model using insights from the Behavior Matters 

Campaign, the recent FEVS and OIG SCCS, as well as our literature review. The seven 

characteristics shown below were considered to further improve NRC’s effectiveness, efficiency, 

and agility: 

1) Empowerment and Shared Leadership: Each supervisor is expected to give their 

employees the support, access to information, and discretion to perform work consistent 

with their assigned roles and responsibilities. Each employee is expected to display 

leadership and initiative while engaging others in a manner that supports the mission, 

and reflects the NRC Organizational Values, and Principles of Good Regulation. 

2) Innovation and Risk Tolerance: All employees are encouraged to actively identify new 

ways of doing the work of the agency in a more effective, efficient, and agile manner. 

We embrace failures as learning opportunities that build organizational character, and 

despite the possibility of sometimes falling short of our goal, we persevere in seeking 

ways to improve. 

3) Diversity in Thought: At NRC, decision-making is enhanced when it incorporates a 

variety of viewpoints. As a result, we cultivate a positive environment for the expression 

 

5 U. S. Office of Personnel Management, (2016), Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey Results, Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission Agency Management report 2016, Washington D.C., U. S. Office of Personnel 

Management 

6 Worley, C., Williams, T., Lawler, E. (2014), The Agility Factor: Building Adaptable Organizations for 

Superior Performance, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass 

7 Likert, R., (1967), The Human Organization: Its Management and Value, McGraw-Hill 
The Commissioners -4- 

of diverse views, alternative approaches, critical thinking, collaborative problem solving, 

unbiased evaluations, and honest feedback. 

4) Receptivity to New Ideas and Thinking: Leaders and staff are open to a broad range of 

possible solutions to resolve problems or new ways of doing work. We recognize a key 

measure of our organizational agility is our ability to respond to and proactively change 

in a timely and effective manner. 

5) Collaboration and Teamwork: Collaboration entails employees working together with 

others, including internal or external stakeholders, on a shared goal. It involves 

collective brainstorming, debating, and developing possible solutions to inform a 

decision. Collaboration results when team members share the recognition that the 

optimal solutions often come, not from a single individual, but through the team working 

together. 

6) Participative Decision-Making: All employees have a role in the decision-making 

process, consistent with their assigned responsibilities. Decision-making at NRC entails 

gathering facts and soliciting diverse viewpoints of those involved in the process. The 

decision-maker(s) should consider as many viewpoints, as practical, and critically 

assess the merits of each position in order to make the most informed and sound 

decision. Once a decision is made by the person or organizational unit responsible, it 

should be explained and implemented accordingly. Leadership retains final decisionmaking authority and accountability. 

7) Transparency: Information is readily shared with colleagues with relevant knowledge 

and responsibility to ensure the information necessary for effective empowerment, 

innovation, collaboration, and decision-making is available and accessible. 

The Senior Leaders Meeting participants expressed support for creating an explicit NRC 

leadership model, although the discussion revealed differences in their perception of the current 

and desired future state of the characteristics, as well as the emphasis that should be placed on 

each to improve agency performance. This diversity in perspectives illustrates the various 

expectations surrounding these concepts, which can be attributed in part to the absence of an 

explicit NRC leadership model. Based on the discussion, the participants agreed that although 

the characteristic of Transparency is an important component to a Leadership Model, it is 

already sufficiently incorporated into the NRC Organizational Values and Principles of Good 

Regulation, and therefore does not need to be specifically incorporated into an NRC Leadership 

Model. They also agreed that the other six characteristics, if included in an explicit leadership 

model, would enhance organizational effectiveness, efficiency, and agility. 

Relationship to Organizational Values and the Principles of Good Regulation: 

Per the SRM, the staff assessed whether the characteristics of the NRC Organizational Values 

and the Principles of Good Regulation support empowerment and feeling a sense of personal 

responsibility and accountability through creative thinking, innovation, and informed risk taking 

in all our activities. While the importance of the Principles and Values is well established and 

they have served as effective guideposts for NRC’s organizational culture and performance 

since they were established more than 20 years ago, they do not explicitly recognize the 

characteristics of empowerment, innovation, and informed risk-taking. 

The staff believes that the six characteristics mentioned above would complement the agency’s 

current culture and provide a more comprehensive organizational and philosophical framework. 

Anchored by the NRC Principles of Good Regulation and Organizational Values, an explicit 
The Commissioners -5- 

leadership model that incorporates these additional characteristics would provide a foundation 

to further improve and sustain the agency’s effectiveness, efficiency, and agility. 

Conclusion: 

Based on the reexamination of the leadership model concept, the staff concludes that an explicit 

NRC leadership model focused on Empowerment & Shared Leadership, Innovation & Risk 

Tolerance, Participative Decision-Making, Diversity in Thought, Receptivity to New Ideas and 

Thinking, and Collaboration & Teamwork will improve NRC’s effectiveness, efficiency and 

agility. When coupled with the NRC Principles of Good Regulation and Organizational Values, 

the resulting leadership model will further shape the NRC’s culture by providing a more 

comprehensive set of behavioral expectations. These behaviors will enable NRC to become an 

even stronger regulator as we operate in an environment of increasing change and complexity. 

The staff recommends that the Commission approve staff action to develop and implement an 

explicit NRC leadership model. Upon Commission approval, the staff will begin drafting a 

written statement regarding the desired leadership beliefs and fundamental behaviors that 

support the noted characteristics. Although constructing the leadership model is an important 

first step to realizing a comprehensive set of behavioral expectations, these behaviors will 

enable NRC to become an even stronger regulator as we operate in an environment of 

increasing change and complexity. 

In developing the leadership model, the staff anticipates establishing a working group comprised 

of leaders from across the agency. This working group would also collaborate with 

representatives of National Treasury Employees Union. This group would be established upon 

a Commission decision to approve the development of an NRC leadership model. 

SECY, please track. 

cc: SECY 

 OGC 

 OCA 

 OPA 

 CFO
The Commissioners -5- 

leadership model that incorporates these additional characteristics would provide a foundation 

to further improve and sustain the agency’s effectiveness, efficiency, and agility. 

Conclusion: 

Based on the reexamination of the leadership model concept, the staff concludes that an explicit 

NRC leadership model focused on Empowerment & Shared Leadership, Innovation & Risk 

Tolerance, Participative Decision-Making, Diversity in Thought, Receptivity to New Ideas and 

Thinking, and Collaboration & Teamwork will improve NRC’s effectiveness, efficiency and 

agility. When coupled with the NRC Principles of Good Regulation and Organizational Values, 

the resulting leadership model will further shape the NRC’s culture by providing a more 

comprehensive set of behavioral expectations. These behaviors will enable NRC to become an 

even stronger regulator as we operate in an environment of increasing change and complexity. 

The staff recommends that the Commission approve staff action to develop and implement an 

explicit NRC leadership model. Upon Commission approval, the staff will begin drafting a 

written statement regarding the desired leadership beliefs and fundamental behaviors that 

support the noted characteristics. Although constructing the leadership model is an important 

first step to realizing a comprehensive set of behavioral expectations, these behaviors will 

enable NRC to become an even stronger regulator as we operate in an environment of 

increasing change and complexity. 

In developing the leadership model, the staff anticipates establishing a working group comprised 

of leaders from across the agency. This working group would also collaborate with 

representatives of National Treasury Employees Union. This group would be established upon 

a Commission decision to approve the development of an NRC leadership model. 

SECY, please track. 

cc: SECY 

 OGC 

 OCA 

 OPA 

 CFO 

ADAMS Accession No.: ML16348A323 *Concurred via email 

OFFICE DD/OCHCO RA/RII OCHCO OGC 

NAME JHudson* CHaney* MCohan* BJones* 

DATE 12/13/16 12/1/16 12/14/16 12/14/16 

OFFICE DEDM/OEDO EDO 

NAME GTracy 

MWeber for VMcCree 

DATE 12/19/16 02/06/17 

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY