A Commitment to Excellence and Service

This is a platform to share the radical pivots, risks, self-evaluations and reflections of people I admire. We dig into the moments that led the people in their lives to go, “She Did What?!” and ultimately, to their personal or professional metamorphosis. As we start our third year of She Did What?! I am so honored to feature Anita McBride for our first article of 2023. One of the longest-tenured women in the White House, Anita’s career spans two decades at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, serving three Presidents in personnel and management capacities, at the White House and at the State Department, as well as First Lady Laura Bush as her chief of staff. She served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as White House personnel director. She was instrumental in coordinating four presidential transitions, including the historic circumstances surrounding the 2000 contested election. She has held significant foreign policy and academic posts and served on the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board – appointed by President George W. Bush and reappointed by President Obama. I met Anita in 2000 when we were both working for the George W. Bush Transition after the monumental Florida Recount.?

American University is lucky to have her as an executive-in-residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. She directs programming and national conferences on the legacies of America’s first ladies (the First Ladies Initiative and their historical influence on politics, policy, and global diplomacy. She is co-founder of the first research organization focused on the topic of first ladies called FLARE -- First Ladies Association for Research and Education.

In partnership with other FLARE experts, Anita’s current project is a college level textbook on First Ladies of the United States. It will be the first book of its kind, and covers all U.S. First Ladies from Martha Washington to Jill Biden. The book highlights lesser-known stories of first ladies and their influence through the course of history, exploring their work thematically, from the traditional, but significant role of White House hostess to their impact on civil rights and global affairs and how each person evolved the role. A very exciting project that I cannot wait to read.?

To start our time together, I asked Anita to share several pivotal decisions she’s made throughout her career. She reflects:

This question caused me to pause and reflect a great deal. I have made several significant pivots throughout my life, but the first major decision was early on when I was in college. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my elderly grandparents and their friends, all immigrants from Italy who, despite language and other barriers, worked hard building a life in a new country. As a child, and then into my teenage years, I developed a place in my heart for the elderly and volunteered at a local hospital and nursing home near my high school.? When I thought about college, I wanted to be a doctor and it made sense to me that I would go into gerontology.? My first big decision was to go to college on a pre-med track.?

Two years into my studies however, I was failing, and failing badly. As a classic type-a overachiever, I had never “failed” at something I had put my mind to, so it dealt a real blow to my confidence and path. I needed to make a change but I just didn’t know what that change was. I was in my least favorite place… limbo. Around the time of another report card with failing science grades, I read about a new study abroad program being offered at the University of Connecticut, where I was attending, for a junior year abroad in Italy. I had never been to Italy, but it was my heritage and the language was spoken at home so I thought it would be comfortable but also an adventure. I was accepted into the program and soon my anxiety over being in limbo was replaced by a wanderlust of travel and desire to explore abroad. I knew it was my opportunity to change directions.?

To say going overseas changed my life would be an understatement. Not only did it set me on an entirely different path, it gave me a totally new perspective and outlook on the world.?

So many of our She Did What?! Readers are high performing, type-A over achievers like Anita here. What I appreciate about Anita’s honest reflection is that she was able to understand that it was ok to not be good at something (even though it was hard!) and to redirect. She harnessed that failure to figure out the next step. I also want to note the important legacy her family and family heritage played in her early life. From wanting to go into gerontology to her pivot to Italy, it is clear that so much of her professional DNA was influenced by her upbringing. As I had a similar transformational experience going abroad for the first time I was curious to learn more specifics about how the time overseas changed her perspective on the world. Anita reflects,

Traveling overseas as a young person, learning to be totally independent (there were not any cell phones or computers!) totally opened up my world and gave me great confidence plus I was a straight A student again! This growth opportunity coincided with a major world event, the Iranian Hostage Crisis in November 1979. Living abroad during this crisis was extremely eye opening. I was shocked to see pictures of the American Embassy in Tehran overrun and Americans taken hostage. I had always felt lucky to be an American but this event made me more aware of the responsibility I had to better understand what caused my country to face this extraordinary crisis.

Interestingly, this experience overseas was a stepping stone for my next chapter when I came back to the United States in 1980 at the height of the Reagan vs. Carter Presidential Campaign. When I arrived back at the University of Connecticut I was recruited to volunteer at the Reagan Campaign HQ in Hartford, Connecticut. What I lacked in political knowledge I made up for with a lot of hard work and energy to be part of something new and exciting. The volunteer experience was a way to contribute to our great country and it was really great when Reagan won! I wanted to move to Washington D.C. right away, but because of my earlier failing pre-med experience I was 12 credits behind. Here’s where another pivot came into play. I decided to leave UConn and finish those 12 credits in Washington, DC so at least I could be closer to national politics. I enrolled in a program at American University and did an internship at the Department of Commerce and really had no idea where it all would lead but I kept pressing forward to navigate my way through life and career in Washington D.C. It was the right move and turned out pretty great personally and professionally.

Even though for many years, Anita was focused on doing the next interesting thing in front of her, not knowing exactly where it would lead, it’s still clear that she had a lot of intention and focus behind each of her moves. I was curious if she had a singular process or processes to help her take stock of where she is and what she wants to accomplish? She reflects,?

When you are in the White House you don’t really have time to stop and reflect. The job can be 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It’s the most demanding job, but also the most rewarding. I worked really hard and built a good reputation, earned people’s trust and just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I also made many lifelong friends during those years. Since my White House days, I have gone back to analyze my career path that has been so professionally rewarding and reflect on the choices I made. I was the most energized when I was doing something new and out of my comfort zone; these were the times? where I excelled the most.??

Another thing that became clear when considering making a jump to new opportunities, was the difference it made when a trusted friend or mentor believed that I could do it. Having someone believe in me gave me the confidence needed to make the initial leap to a new challenge. I learned early on that I didn’t always have to have everything figured out.? If I worked hard I would learn and do a great job and keep building my skills.???

I always try to implement a practice of reflection, but it’s been hard in many of the fast-paced environments I have been in. Instead, I focused on doing an excellent job every day, trusting that when it came time for the next step, or the next pivot, that I would be in a strong position for wherever the next path led. One mindset that helped me handle the time demands when I was in the White House was knowing that each job would last a finite amount of time. It forces you to not waste time when you know you have a specific window to get the job done and serve the office well and ultimately serve the country to the best of your ability. Understanding that concept of limited time helped guide me while in this very intense environment.?

I appreciate Anita’s unique point of view. She admits- there was a time in her career where she did not have the capacity to reflect. However, this doesn’t mean she wasn’t striving. Instead, she adopted a posture of daily reflection and excellence. Everyday asking herself how am I contributing? What legacy am I trying to build? What will I be known for? Many of our She Did What?! Readers work in high-intensity environments and I think that this daily approach is a very smart strategy.?

To end our time, I asked Anita to share her top tips for radical self-evaluation. She shares.?

1. Be honest about your capacity- I always ask myself- am I taking on too much? I have a strong desire to always be learning, but I don’t want to overextend myself.?
2. When you commit to something, always follow through and complete it. You don’t want to be known as someone who says yes but then doesn’t deliver.?
3. I often ask myself “Is my participation helping to further the mission? Am I actively adding value?’

As we start our third year of, She Did What?! Anita’s message of a commitment to excellence and hard work is exactly what we need to hear. It doesn’t have to be immediate; the transformation can happen gradually over a period of time but every day we can make small decisions for our future selves. I hope this encourages you as we move into a season of self-reflection and goal setting.?

Thank you, Anita, for sharing your story with us. We are amazed by your impressive career and equally grateful for your thoughtful approach to self-reflection and pivots!

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