LEXINGTON, Va., Nov. 2, 2022—The 13th Annual VMI Leadership and Ethics Conference, “Principled Dissent: Navigating Moral Challenges,” was held Monday, Oct. 31, and Tuesday, Nov. 1, in Marshall Hall on post. The conference focused on both the personal aspects of developing and exercising moral courage and the organizational environment set by leaders to encourage respectful, honest, and candid conversation.

More than 160 participants, including students from many colleges, universities, and military academies from across the nation including Virginia Tech, Christopher Newport University, Washington College, the Citadel, the Coast Guard Academy, Texas A&M University, Norwich University, the Air Force Academy, East Tennessee State University, as well as many VMI cadets, gathered to hear inspirational speakers, participate in collaborative activities, and to network. Central to the conference’s programming were small group discussions and speakers focusing on critical thinking, problem solving, making ethical decisions, and becoming an effective leader with convictions.

Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins ’85, superintendent, welcomed attendees on Monday morning and challenged them to learn how to lift their voices to the world’s challenges while exploring the dimensions of effective leadership, often placing courage over comfort. “There is a fine line between constructive and destructive dissent. Over the next two days, you will learn new skills on how to speak up and be critical when the situation is appropriate. You will learn about yourselves, and how you as leaders, can effectively influence a team and encourage a culture of honesty and integrity," Wins said.

The first guest speaker the audience heard was Ira Chaleff, an executive coach in the greater Washington D.C. area, and author of the book, “The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders,” which is used widely in leadership studies and development programs and has been translated into multiple languages. His later book, “Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You’re Told To Do Is Wrong” was named the best new leadership book of 2015 by the University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences.

Chaleff, having recently recovered from an illness, spoke remotely to his audience. The title of his talk was, “A Critical Leadership and Followership Skill.” He defined leadership as “a relationship of mutual influence between leaders and followers,” and noted that in every organized activity there is a leader and at least one follower. Sometimes one leads, and sometimes one follows. He stated that followers are equally as important as leaders when all share the same values and are in service to a common purpose. To follow courageously, one should stand up to and for the leaders, though sometimes a leader should be challenged or questioned.

Chaleff discussed the idea of “intelligent disobedience,” which is resistance to an order if the leader lacks legitimate authority or the order will produce harm. He gave an example of a guide dog for the blind being taught to disobey commands when they pose a danger. The dog’s visually impaired master has legitimate authority, but may give the command to lead him across the street. At that point the dog intelligently disobeys. Why? Because what the master doesn’t realize is that a quiet car is quickly approaching and if the dog obeys, he will put himself and his master in grave danger. He noted that this type of disobedience differs from civil disobedience, where the system is perceived to be unjust, with violations to laws and rules are committed usually to bring public harm.

Chaleff discussed authority structures, which are externally assigned roles, for example a job description or responsibility flow chart, that clarify who can set policy or issue orders for others. Such structures promote orderly group activity and efficiency. Problems arise within these internalized rules of behavior toward authority vary. Sources of internalized rules are often established at a young age and can come from family, schools, youth programs, religion, culture, indoctrination, and organization norms. The varying internalized rules can inhibit the flow of information and ideas. He noted that there are varying degrees of obedience. Some people obey authority, even to the detriment of themselves and to others, while others limit their obedience when it conflicts to a higher authority, for example what they were taught by their parents, or what their religion or conscience forbids.

Chaleff advised to use an effective voice when dissenting. An assertive voice is assured, confident, firm, and forthright. A mitigating voice is diplomatic, hedging, and weak. A mitigating voice may be appropriate in some circumstances, but the closer to risk or danger a situation comes, the speaker must change his voice to one of assertive. Chaleff gave a real life example of a co-pilot who was concerned with the pilot’s landing approach, but only used a mitigating voice and deferred to the pilot’s experience and authority. Even to the point immediately before the airplane crashed, the co-pilot continued to use the weak voice to the demise of everyone on board.

In closing, Chaleff recommended that when one is contemplating intelligent disobedience, to first observe the risk, pause the action, resist obeying or conforming, use an effective voice, counter pull if needed, find better alternatives, then return lead as appropriate, since taking away leadership from the authority is not the goal, but advising and correcting toward the common purpose is the goal.

Later in the morning, Erika Cheung, who began her career working as a medical researcher in the biotechnology industry spoke.  She is famously known for being a key whistle-blower reporting the medical-diagnostic company Theranos to health regulators. Theranos was started in 2003 and was thought to be the latest new company in Silicon Valley whose value would skyrocket like that of Instagram and many other revolutionary technology companies. The company claimed to simplify blood testing by one simple finger stick, rather than the traditional blood draw of multiple test tubes from the vein of an arm. They claimed to have a machine that could provide test results within an hour. The founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was thought to be the Steve Jobs of the healthcare industry. Holmes was successful in raising $700 million to start the company and was able to put together a high-profile board of directors including Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, and Gen. James Mattis.

Cheung was hired at 22 years old, fresh out of college. She was drawn to Theranos because of its claim to make healthcare more affordable, especially to people without health insurance. But Cheung immediately noticed that things were wrong at the company. Having only worked about a month, Cheung described an incident which she called the “Thanksgiving Nightmare” in which she tried to run a quality control test on the machine, but kept getting conflicting results. When she reported the problem, she was told that she was inexperienced to properly run the test.

She soon discovered that the blood tests were not being run in the new machine, but in the traditional FDA approved machines secreted in the basement of the building. When the FDA regulators sent trial blood samples to test the integrity of the new Theranos machine, the samples were tested both in the new machine and the traditional machines, but the test results of the traditional machines was what was sent back to the FDA regulators. Cheung observed this fabrication and chose to resign rather than to join in the lie. She later wrote a letter to the regulators which started the investigation. Criminal charges were filed against Holmes and Sunny Balwani who served at COO for the company. They were both found guilty, and sentencing is pending.

Cheung is now executive director of Ethics in Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit organization with the mission to embed ethical questioning, culture, and systems in start-up ecosystems worldwide.  

The first day ended with dinner speaker, Peter Bonilla, vice president of programs at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a nonprofit civil liberties group whose aim of protecting free speech rights on college campuses in the United States. He spoke about freedom of speech on college campuses and the need for students to be exposed to a variety of viewpoints. “It is important for them to hear and understand points of view with which they may disagree in order to prepare them to operate effectively in new environments in which they need to find a common purpose with people from diverse backgrounds. Colleges need to find new ways to allow people to dissent without shutting down controversial speakers,” he said.

Prior to joining FIRE, Peter was literary manager of Philadelphia’s InterAct Theatre Company, one of the country’s top theatres for the development and production of new politically and socially-themed plays. He is a past recipient of a fellowship in playwriting from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and his first play was developed (with stage and film actor David Strathairn) at Philadelphia’s PlayPenn New Play Development Conference, and premiered to critical acclaim in Arizona in September 2011.

On the second day of the conference, Gen. Robert B. Neller, a retired four-star general who served as the 37^th commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, appeared as the H.B. Johnson, Class of 1926 Distinguished Lecture Series speaker in Cameron Hall where the entire Corps of Cadets, along with the conference participants were in attendance. Upon starting his speech, Neller stepped down from the stage and addressed the audience from the floor.

He told his listeners that there is no secret to being an effective leader. “It is hard, but there is a path, and you already know what it is. You will grow and change,” he said. He asked the audience to think of a person who had inspired them at some point in their life, think of their traits; competent, respectful, unselfish, compassionate, patient, and to take on those same traits. 

Neller reminded his audience that effort matters and told a story of a Marine recruit he trained early in his career. This recruit was overweight, had lost 100 pounds in 120 days of training, but failed to perform even one pull-up. The recruit was in danger of being sent home, but had a positive attitude and put forth such a strong effort, that the entire platoon was cheering him as he completed his first pull-up. The recruit refused to quit until he achieved his goal. Neller noted that during his career he was exposed to smart and talented people who didn’t work hard, but he much preferred hard workers who weren’t as talented.

He discussed the sacrifice, discipline, and hard work that those in attendance had put forth in achieving where they are, in their respective institutes of higher learning. “Your example is the most powerful tool you have to inspire those around you. Your character has been developed by your parents, teachers, and mentors. Don’t ruin your character by making bad choices. Don’t compromise, and protect what you’ve earned,” he warned. 

Neller advised his audience to get “buy in” by your personal example, how you speak and conduct yourself. To illustrate, he told a story of a time he and his company were at the end of a strenuous multi-day training exercise. They were all tired and hungry. He promised that if the chow truck arrived, he would have the enlisted men eat first, then the officers, and Neller himself would eat last, and if there was no food left for him, so be it. The chow truck arrived, and an officer climbed up to start to unload it. The officer saw cake in the truck, and when he thought no one was watching, he ate a piece. An enlisted man observed him eat it and reported the violation to Neller, who in turn disciplined the officer. “Don’t eat the cake” is a metaphor Neller uses for setting a personal example.

Neller closed by reminding his audience that when they are in a leadership position, if they want to hear what others have to say, ask them, and be sincere. “Don’t ask for an opinion if you don’t want to hear it,” he said.

Prior to serving as U.S.M.C. commandant, Neller served as the commander, Marine Forces Command from July 2014 to September 2015 and commander, Marine Forces Central Command from September 2012 to June 2014. A native of East Lansing, Michigan, Neller graduated from the University of Virginia and was commissioned in 1975. He served as an infantry officer at all levels, including command of Marine Security Force Company Panama during Operation Just Cause and Operation Promote Liberty; 3^rd Light Armored Infantry Battalion during Operation Restore Hope; 6^th Marine Regiment; and 3^rd Marine Division. Neller also served as deputy commanding general, I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005-2007; assistant division commander for 1^st and 2^nd Marine Divisions; and president of Marine Corps University. His Joint assignments include service in the Policy Division of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Casteau, Belgium, and as director of operations (J-3) of the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. Neller is a graduate of the Armor Officer Advanced Course, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, NATO Defense College, and the Armed Forces Staff College. He holds a master’s degree in human resource management from Pepperdine University.     

On Tuesday afternoon, Rachael Denhollander appeared as the Caroline Dawn Wortham ’12 Leadership Speaker. Wortham was a VMI graduate who passed away in 2015 at the age of 26 after being hit by a car while riding her bicycle in Hanover County, Virginia. Her father, Dr. Edwin Wortham V, has provided an endowment to fund the series in her memory and was in attendance to hear Denhollander speak.

Denhollander became known internationally in 2016 as the first woman to pursue criminal charges and speak publicly against U.S.A. Gymnastics’ team doctor Larry Nassar, one of the most prolific sexual abusers in recorded history. Denhollander first encountered Nassar when she was a 15-year-old gymnast, and went to him for back and wrist pain. At the time, he was a pre-eminent sports medicine physician, and she felt fortunate to be able to consult him. But immediately she thought that things weren’t quite right. As a young girl, she was confused. Eventually though, he did something she clearly recognized as assault. She and her parents, who were supportive of her, faced a battle against a community that revered and respected the physician, and saw the young gymnast as a troublemaker trying to get attention or money.

For nearly 16 years, Denhollander watched and waited and collected medical files. Eventually she read an article in the Indianapolis Star about coach abuse that was rampant in the sport of gymnastics. She and her parents talked with the newspaper and their story was printed. It immediately made international headlines. The family knew they would face adverse consequences, but decided to do what was right. “I knew speaking out would not necessarily mean a positive outcome, but I had to be faithful to my values. The definition of success is being faithful with what you are given. Ideas have consequences, but bad ideas have victims, and I didn’t want anyone to pay the price of my decision to remain silent,” said Denhollander.  

As a result of her activism over 300 women—including numerous Olympic medalists—came forward as survivors of Nassar’s abuse, eventually leading to his life imprisonment. Her courageous tenacity and ongoing advocacy helped trigger a complete upheaval at both U.S.A. Gymnastics and Michigan State University, where former executives and high-ranking officials face numerous criminal charges for their complicity in covering up Nassar’s abuse and lying about what they knew.

Denhollander reminded the audience not to argue just to win, and that we become who we are one small choice at a time. She credits those who stood beside her along her journey, explaining Nassar’s prison sentence as “a collective effort of quiet decisions.”

Each speaker recognized the efforts of the Center for Leadership and Ethics staff for bringing a highly engaging event together with such unique perspectives contributing to the theme.

Col. Dave Gray, director for VMI’s Center for Leadership and Ethics, was pleased and proud of this year’s conference and his team's efforts, saying, “Each speaker and each interactive activity we designed into this conference brought depth and a variety of perspectives on how to be a courageous follower who uses dissent when necessary and also how leaders can set an environment that invites candor. The feedback we received from the conference participants about both the design and execution of the conference has been very positive. We hope that they will continue to discuss and reflect on this theme for quite some time to come.”

Fatoumata Diallo ’23, one of the cadet facilitators for the conference, enjoyed the guest speakers and networking with her peers and alumni. “It was a rich and engaging conference that taught attendees how to engage in morally challenging discussions and to practice various dissent techniques using an assertive voice,” she said.

Harrison Williams ’25 thought the conference was a great event. “It’s not every day that you can talk to the former commandant of the Marine Corps. I learned valuable advice from him that will serve me and others well. I thought this was a great experience overall and I plan on attending this conference every year,” he said.

Next year’s Leadership Conference will be held on Oct. 30 – Oct. 31, 2023 with an announcement of the theme and title coming in the spring. To stay informed, visit the conference website and join the mailing list.

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE