Strategic Leadership in a VUCA World: Jonathan Woodson | Decision-Making: Voices from the Field

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Dr. Jonathan Woodson discusses strategic leadership in a VUCA world—an environment that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

He spoke at the Harvard School of Public Health as part of the Decision-making: Voices from the Field leadership discussion series December 5, 2013. Watch the entire series at http://hsph.me/voices.

The Decision-making: Voices from the Field webcast leadership discussion series at Harvard School of Public Health invites leaders to speak about their experiences making decisions that affect global health. Highly interactive and candid, the series is produced in The Leadership Studio for a student audience. The high-definition webcast is streamed live and posted for future viewing. Students learn from experienced leaders about decisions that were effective, decisions that failed, and which decisions, if any, could have been made differently.

Dr.Jonathan Woodson is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. In this role, he administers the more than $50 billion Military Health System (MHS) budget and serves as principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for health issues. Prior to his appointment by President Obama, Dr. Woodson served as Associate Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Professor of Surgery at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), and senior attending vascular surgeon at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Dr. Woodson holds the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve, and served as Assistant Surgeon General for Reserve Affairs, Force Structure and Mobilization in the Office of the Surgeon General, and as Deputy Commander of the Army Reserve Medical Command. Dr. Woodson is a graduate of the City College of New York and the New York University School of Medicine. He received his postgraduate medical education at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and completed residency training in internal medicine, and general and vascular surgery. He also holds a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies (concentration in strategic leadership) from the U.S. Army War College.