In the spirit of the season, Michael McMahan joins us this month to talk about favorite holiday traditions and to offer insights around fundraising and the role of philanthropy amid challenging economic and social conditions. He also relates a very funny story about his one experience in the White House Situation Room, leadership lessons from President Bush and much more.
Q: Do you have a favorite holiday memory from your time in the Administration or a favorite family holiday tradition that you’d like to share with your fellow BCAers?
Christmas in the White House is one of those things I wish everyone could experience once – like Christmas in New York or Paris. All those familiar rooms and backdrops from movies and TV decorated in a unique holiday theme every year. But the more memorable thing for me personally might be Christmas at the Bush Center and the gift that President and Mrs. Bush have given over the years to so many – even all these years after leaving Washington. They take time to greet and thank the office staff, catering team, Secret Service, families, donors, and docents every year. I’m sure it’s exhausting. I think I proposed some ways to trim it back a few times to no avail. That was me not fully understanding it’s not about them, but about everyone else. A true gift of their time to all those who gave time, talent, and treasure throughout the year to advance and improve lives here and abroad.
Christmas in the McMahan home is pretty straightforward. Christmas Eve service, early morning presents, grandparents visit, brunch, nap. However, as the kids have gotten older, we have started doing a dinner out at a nice restaurant in town with them during December (Al Biernat’s and Fachini were recent ones). My 11-year-old has really gotten into it. The only time all year he doesn’t complain about wearing something besides t-shirt and shorts. He goes jacket, tie, and slacks. He even combs his hair without being asked. The hope is they still want to do this as a tradition even after they leave the nest.
Q: After 11 successful years at the Bush Center, in March 2023, you were named President and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation. The foundation was founded in 1939 to advance and sustainably support the highest-quality patient care, research, and education in the southwestern United States. You were a key member of the executive leadership team at the Bush Center, but what lessons have you learned as a first-time CEO?
At the Bush Center, I got to watch a fledgling institution grow, evolve, fail at some things, and have great success at others. I knew every lever to pull to get something done and, generally, why everything was set up the way it was. Now, I help lead an 85-year-old institution with 90 Board members overseeing $1 billion dollars in support of one of the premier academic medical centers in the world. It is more than a slightly humbling experience. Instead of knowing everything, I knew next to nothing when I arrived. So, I had to boil it down to the basics—focus on the internal team, engage the Board, and build communication and trust with our partners at UT Southwestern. Those were familiar skills from the Bush Center that were easily translated.
I asked for (and still ask for) lots of help and try to be overly transparent. I didn’t make major changes, but over the course of two years, I have made some minor adjustments once I felt like I had a deep enough understanding of an area or issue. We also have a much smaller team at the Foundation, which means there are moments when the role can feel isolating. This is a reminder of the importance of building trusted networks, maintaining transparency, and fostering collaboration to ensure leadership doesn’t become solitary.
Q: As leader of the Bush Center development team, you oversaw the $335 million “A Charge to Keep” campaign to endow the Bush Center’s work. Between that experience and your current work at the Southwestern Medical Foundation, can you share a few insights about philanthropy and the keys to effective fundraising in the current economic and social landscape?
First of all, fundraising is hard. I’ve been fortunate to work at a couple of places with amazing boards and leaders that make the job way easier. I had no plans to ever be in the fundraising space. But when Margaret Spellings and Jeanne Phillips tell you to do something, you should probably listen. As I learned quickly, the relationship was the key. Connect on something totally unrelated to the ask. Sports, family, art (not my specialty). Politics is always the riskiest one. You’ve got to be able to wear lots of hats to tiptoe through those conversations. After the relationship, at some point, you just have to ask for support and tell them why.
At the Bush Center, we were blessed with a donor network that had a national presence built on two presidential campaigns. But the heart and soul of its long-term funding was always going to be North Texas. Dallas and North Texas have a remarkable philanthropic history going back several generations. I think one of the major differences in the philanthropic community here is that they don’t need or even want the state or government to help them start something new to solve problems – they will do it: seed the start-up; operate and grow using experimental capital: and then find a government or business partner to run it once it’s built. The Bush Center was built with ZERO federal or state dollars and then given to the American people. Some generous donors and a willing partner in Southern Methodist University did the leg work for years before it became a reality. Southwestern Medical Foundation started a medical college in 1943 because Dallas didn’t have one. The Foundation grew the medical college and operated it with philanthropic donations for almost a decade, and then it partnered with the University of Texas to grow it into what is now UT Southwestern Medical Center. This problem-solving mentality of the philanthropic community actually increases giving in times of economic stress or social discord. If no one else can help… we will.
Q: What leadership lessons from President Bush continue to serve you well today?
Three things really stand out. One, have a set of fundamental values and principles to guide the work that is applicable to almost all situations. This makes you more consistent and allows your team to feel confident in knowing how you would react no matter what question or issue pops up in their work. Second, know your strengths and weaknesses and make sure your decision-making team has a lot of people smarter than you, especially women, to fill in those blind spots. And lastly, don’t be a jerk. We can all work hard and achieve excellence, while at the same time enjoying your colleagues and having a laugh.
Q: Can you leave us with a favorite story or moment from your time in the Administration or at the Bush Center?
My wife bought me a journal to write down all the stories for our kids to read someday – I still need to sit down and do it. My favorite Bush Center story involved a drone and is highly classified, but everyone should feel free to ask around about it next time you visit the Bush Center in Dallas. My favorite Administration story happened near the very end of 2008. I was a late comer to the Administration. I had the very generic title of “Case Analyst” in the policy shop of the Department of Energy. But, I did happen to have a good security clearance. For some reason, about 300 more senior and qualified people than me at DOE were out, and a meeting was called at the White House Situation Room that required us to have a delegate. I was the only person around with a pulse and clearance. The briefer just told me one thing – if they bring up Burma and pipelines, you MUST object to any changes to current policy. I didn’t even know where Burma was. I showed up at the West Wing – thankfully Bessie Liedke was there to show me around. I didn’t actually know her, but she has a twin sister I know well from college, so it was a familiar face to help guide me through the hallways. Everyone in the Sit Room was at least 20 years older and most had military uniforms on. I sat in the far corner and prayed Burma would never be mentioned—and mostly just blacked out. There was no breaking any national security protocols by me. I couldn’t tell you a thing that was said other than Burma was never mentioned. After getting back to the office, I reported out to my boss that it was handled. No worries. Piece of cake.
BONUS: Your Texas Longhorns play host to Clemson on Saturday in the College Football Playoff. Would you like to make a prediction about the Longhorns prospects in that game and beyond?
43-0 Horns, of course. My big dream would be for my two favorite teams, Texas and SMU, to end up playing for it all. That would make college football’s collective head explode and would be a great throwback to the early 1980s Southwest Conference Days (and now it’s legal to pay players). Hook ‘em Ponies!
