Lessons From a Transformational Leader

(2026-03)

I recently was forwarded an obituary from a friend.  The obituary was for a former boss, Peter McCrea (go to legacy.com and search for his name).  Seeing the picture on the obituary brought back many memories, all of them good.  I even smiled a lot as I recalled my time working directly for Peter.

Peter McCrea retired from Chevron in 2001, shortly after the Chevron-Texaco merger.  At the time, he was the VP of Chevron’s global lubricants and specialty products organization.  He was famous (some would say infamous) in Chevron.  He had quite a reputation of reorganizing units and bringing about a lot of change (and subsequent turmoil).

In 1994, Peter oversaw Chevron’s Supply & Distribution (trading) organization.  He led a reorganization of that unit.  I worked in the oil trading unit in Houston when the reorganization was done.  I was selected as the Training & Quality Consultant for the group and reported directly to Peter. 

I initially went into the role with a good bit of trepidation.  I had heard a lot about Peter, most of it was fear inspiring.  I spent over two years working directly for Peter and developed an excellent working relationship with him.  Despite his reputation, I enjoyed my time with him.  I came to respect and admire him as a leader, manager, boss, and human being.  Looking back, this time was quite a character builder for me.  I owe a lot to Peter and wish the time could have been longer.

Shortly after I was selected for the role, I had a discussion with my current supervisor (a direct report of Peter).  I shared with him my concern and unease of working for someone with this reputation, along with my concern over moving my family to the high-cost San Francisco Bay Area.  He assured me that I was the right person for the job and if I continued working at the high level I had been, my salary would increase.  He said he couldn’t guarantee a promotion or a good raise, the likelihood of that was all in my hands.  He then humbled me by saying “we put you in that job to shape and improve Peter as a leader.  I know you can do that.”

That conversation allowed me to have a degree of confidence in my approach with Peter.  I worked for him and his leadership team just as I had done in Houston.  About six months into the job, we had our office Christmas party (ah, the good old days).  I walked up to say hello to Peter and his wife.  Peter introduced me to his wife by saying “Willinda, this is Mike Henson.  He’s my conscience at work.”  I was floored!

His introduction was indicative of our relationship.  I had the freedom to speak to Peter very frankly about his style of leadership, and how he could be a better leader.  He listened to me and did in fact improve in many ways.  I had freedom that my colleagues did not.  They couldn’t get over their fear and his reputation.

I remember one town hall Peter posted in our headquarters office.  After his intro, Peter took a seat in a chair next to the podium.  A different leader was giving a presentation, and I was acting as the MC.  Peter leaned his chair back and put his foot on the podium to relax.  Unfortunately, when he did, he knocked some stuff off the podium.  Instantly, the room went completely silent (an awkward silence).  I jumped in and said, “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”  This eased the tension and awkwardness and the town hall wrapped up successfully.  Everyone laughed about it, including Peter!

Peter was a unique leader.  He was independently wealthy and didn’t need to work.  I remember attending a leadership team dinner at his winery (Stony Hill, find their website and look at the history tab at https://www.stonyhillvineyard.com/ ).  Check out this site for a great story that includes pictures of Peter:  https://www.palatepress.com/three-generations-and-63-years-later-not-much-has-changed-at-napas-stony-hill/.  One of the leadership team members told Peter they wouldn’t ever want to leave the winery and go into the office (it was beautiful and serene).  Peter replied that he enjoyed the mental stimulation that his Chevron job provided.

I learned a lot from Peter.  One thing I enjoyed (that had nothing to do with leadership) was watching what wine Peter ordered whenever I went out to eat with him.  I gained quite a knowledge of wine from him.  In addition to wine, I also learned the following from Peter:

• Act like you don’t need the job.  Because Peter was wealthy, he really didn’t need to work.  He wasn’t bogged down or concerned with corporate politics.  He did things because he sincerely thought they were the right things to do, regardless of the politics (and sometimes impact).  He enjoyed making business better. 
• Be aware of the impact you have as a leader.  One Friday was very tough for Peter.  In the morning, he got the result of an internal review of our quality improvement efforts.  The review wasn’t good.  That afternoon, Peter received his upward feedback.  That also wasn’t good.  I noticed before I left for the weekend that he seemed down.  He was quiet, so I asked him if everything was okay.  He responded he had a lot to think about and wished me a good weekend.  The next Monday, Peter sent an email to his leadership team telling us that he had shared the results of the review and feedback with his boss and hired a coach to improve his leadership.  We were quite surprised.  He followed through.  I admired that about him.
• There is never a better time to change an organization than when you know what needs to be changed.  I remember getting a call from Peter late one Friday afternoon.  He asked me to come the next day and facilitate a meeting.  He’d just been given the approval to merge the domestic and international trading units at Chevron.  He had leaders coming from Singapore, London, Houston, and the Bay Area.  He wanted me to facilitate this merging, and the reorganization of two units into one.  It was strictly confidential, which was why the meeting was scheduled for a Saturday.  There was no drastic reduction in staff, so the impact on people was minimal.  Peter kicked off the meeting, then left the room.  I facilitated the leaders in developing the new organization, and we presented our thoughts to Peter that afternoon.  He approved it and asked me to prepare the documents for him to submit on Monday.  It made for a long weekend but was an experience I’ll never forget.  I was humbled that he trusted me for this opportunity.
• Don’t be afraid to have fun.  Peter had an infectious smile and laugh.  He was truly a lot of fun to be around.  He took work seriously, but he didn’t hesitate to have fun.

I know Peter improved his leadership skills after he hired a coach.  I saw it in progress and experienced improvement.  I enjoy adding value to people in leadership roles.  If you would like to discuss how my coaching could help you improve your leadership skills, email me at mike@mrhensonllc.com and we’ll schedule an introductory 30-minute session to see if there is value I could add to you.