Martha Johnson could write the book on resilience and she has. It’s called On My Watch: Leadership, Innovation, and Personal Resilience. It includes more than her personal story of how she bounced back after the onslaught of the Congressional Hearings in April, 2012. It’s about how a creative leader carries out innovative strategies and the lessons she learned about how to lead and motivate employees in such a diverse organization as the General Services Administration (GSA).

In Martha’s case, her low point was the two days that Congress literally screamed at her about something she was not directly in control of and really was only vaguely aware of. But as the Administrator of the GSA, she accepted responsibility for the employees’ actions. And in 2012 (an election year) she resigned to limit campaign fall out. Leaders have many attributes, and Martha says the most important one is optimism. She believes a manager is always optimistic: cheering on and motivating the employees, selling the mission, always recruiting and so on. But she is also personally optimistic and views her 2012 crisis as an opportunity for positive change.

Tune in and find out how “surprise” can be a source of energy and a tool after a leader hits the wall. Learn from a female leader’s perspective about government culture and the importance of creativity and the part risk plays in innovation.

Martha Johnson is a leadership speaker and writer with a 30-year career in both business and government. Leading GSA under President Obama she secured her reputation for strategic creativity in big organizations. She recently published a book on her experiences: On My Watch: Leadership, Innovation, and Personal Resilience, a best seller on Amazon. Johnson was graduated with a BA from Oberlin College and an MBA from the Yale University School of Management. She is married, has two adult children and an elderly father, and resides in Annapolis, Maryland.