vol. XX no. 3
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Victor M. McCree
EMBA 2006
Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region II
Calling Signals for the NRC
Vic
McCree hung up his cleats upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy,
but now this former Navy quarterback uses his ability to lead, inspire,
and produce results at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
As
deputy regional administrator for operations at NRC’s Atlanta-based
Region II office, McCree and his team oversee the 33 operating
commercial nuclear reactors in seven states. They also ensure the
safety of all the operating commercial nuclear fuel cycle facilities
across the country. Small wonder that McCree emphasizes the importance
of selecting, training, and caring for people.
A steady rise
to positions of increasing responsibility spurred McCree to return to
school for an Executive MBA (EMBA) degree. “Throughout my career, I led
and managed people and processes with limited academic training in
business management,” he said. He chose Robinson because “it was the
best program for the money.”
What McCree found most relevant
in his EMBA studies were courses on strategy, leadership, and
communications – specifically, “the importance of practices, planning,
and feedback.” In terms of what he now does differently, he says the
greatest impact has been in soft-skill areas, such as communications.
When
Region II received responsibility for overseeing the safety of all new
reactor and fuel cycle facility construction throughout the United
States, McCree realized that a significant increase in staff could
“affect our organizational culture” and make it “easy to lose our
connectedness.” To ensure that the team retained its sense of shared
identity and purpose, McCree added a staff person who spends half his
time on communications; created a quarterly newsletter; and overhauled
Region II’s intranet site.
McCree shares that the NRC once
again snagged the top score in the Best Places to Work in the Federal
Government 2007 rankings – the most recent year for which data are
available. “In the end,” McCree says, “our ability to fulfill our
public health and safety mission is fundamentally about leadership and
taking care of people.”
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