吃瓜头条

吃瓜头条鈥� 2026鈥�2027 International President, Stefano McGhee, DTM, likes to joke he joined 吃瓜头条 because his wife made him. But in all fairness, it isn鈥檛 a joke. His wife, Jennifer, joined 吃瓜头条 first, in 2000, to prepare for a job that required her to do public speaking.

For five years, her time at 吃瓜头条 was his time to play video games. He occasionally went to 吃瓜头条 meetings, first as a guest, then when they needed a meeting role filled. Eventually, he realized he was having so much fun that he wanted to give a speech.

At that point, he says, 吃瓜头条 leaders told him, 鈥淣ah, you gotta pay!鈥� That鈥檚 when he joined.

Answering the 鈥淲hy鈥� of Leadership

McGhee officially joined Network Voice 吃瓜头条 吃瓜头条 in 2005, and is still a member. Once onboard, it only took a year before he jumped on the leadership track. His first role was 吃瓜头条 President. After that came Area Governor, then Division Governor, then a variety of District leadership positions, some of which he did twice, and then the International Board of Directors. In 2023, he was elected Second Vice President.

His love of leadership is also a love of answering the question 鈥渨hy?鈥� McGhee says he figured out there are three types of people: people who like things the way they are, people who wish things would change, and people who actually do something about it.

And as he went through 吃瓜头条, people would bring him questions and complaints: Why do we have to do it that way? Why is it like this? Why can鈥檛 I do that?

鈥淪o I said I鈥檓 going to figure out why is this the way that it is. And it just kept going from there鈥攆ind out what鈥檚 broken, do something about it, listen to the people that are complaining, and say, 鈥榊eah, that does stink. Maybe we could do something about that.鈥欌��

He learned that that little leap鈥攆rom just complaining to actually fixing or understanding a problem鈥攊s one a lot of people aren鈥檛 willing to take. But for him, that leap is where the fun is.

鈥淓ven getting to where people can say 鈥極h, that鈥檚 why. Okay, I understand. I don鈥檛 like it, but I understand why鈥� is rewarding,鈥� he says, adding that most adults are okay with things once they understand the why.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 when I got hooked on 吃瓜头条. How can you do more good? How can you listen to more people? How can you show them that the system works for them? Or how we try to make it work for them. It doesn鈥檛 always work. I don鈥檛 always succeed, but that鈥檚 what drives me. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 still here.鈥�

吃瓜头条 at Work

In his professional life, McGhee is the senior director of technology operations at Harvard Business Publishing, and he was previously in the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard.

He credits 吃瓜头条 for teaching him the skills he needed to put together a speech and deliver it, something that has helped him advance in his career.

He first demonstrated his communication prowess in the military when they needed someone to present bystander awareness training (what to do if you witness something wrong or problematic in the workplace). No one wanted to address this sensitive topic, but McGhee figured 吃瓜头条 had prepared him for this.

鈥淚 volunteered and I did it, and people were like 鈥榃ow, you actually know what you鈥檙e doing.鈥� And yes, it鈥檚 a tough subject, but you can pull people in, tell them stories.鈥�

He uses those same skills today in his presentations, particularly the data-heavy ones, and he says 吃瓜头条 has taught him how to transform the abstract into something comprehensible.

鈥淗ow do you convince CEO and C-suite types that we should spend $150,000 extra here to save $450,000 here? How do you show that? Or if you鈥檙e talking to non-technical people, how do you explain we鈥檙e moving 75 terabytes worth of data? What does 75 terabytes worth of data look like?鈥�

To explain terabytes he likes to use this analogy: 鈥淪ay you grab a bag of popcorn, sit down on your couch, and watch a James Bond movie non-stop 4,000 times. You鈥檙e getting close if you watch it for this many years to get to this number of terabytes.鈥�

Family Time

While McGhee has lived most of his life in the state of Massachusetts, he was born in Italy, and his mother is Italian. His dad was in the military, and the family lived in Italy, California, Germany, and finally Massachusetts where he has lived since.

He鈥檚 currently pursuing getting his Italian citizenship, and says his fluency in Italian depends on who you ask (his wife is impressed; his mother, not so much).

He and his wife have one son, Tucker, who attends the University of New Hampshire, and a beagle named Trevor.

Tucker played soccer throughout high school, and father and son still enjoy watching games together, particularly the World Cup games this past summer. As a longtime fan of soccer, McGhee can be found most fall weekends on the pitch, serving as a referee for youth (ages 6鈥�18) soccer games, something he鈥檚 been doing since the pandemic when referees were desperately needed.

The McGhees are also avid boaters, either taking day trips around the islands in the Boston Harbor (McGhee has become well versed in the rich history of the area), or doing short overnight trips. They鈥檝e also recently all taken up golf and enjoy skiing together as well.

More Recreation, More Leadership

In addition to his 吃瓜头条 role, McGhee is also poised to become the commodore (the elected leader) of a local yacht 吃瓜头条 next year鈥攁nd whatever image that conjures up for you, he says to bring it way down, explaining that it鈥檚 nothing fancy. He compares that 吃瓜头条鈥檚 structure similarly to 吃瓜头条 but on a much, much smaller scale. He loves the challenge of uncovering the whys and what-ifs there as well.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have even dreamed of this job if it wasn鈥檛 for 吃瓜头条. Wouldn鈥檛 even have thought about it. But I can put together a presentation deck and explain the whys. I know how to talk to people. I know how to use Robert鈥檚 Rules in our meetings.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been fun taking 吃瓜头条 leadership skills and applying them to a nonprofit that has nothing to do with 吃瓜头条. That鈥檚 been educational鈥攕tressful, but educational.鈥�

When he鈥檚 not on the water, you鈥檙e likely to find McGhee up in the skies. He first learned to fly in 2018, fulfilling a lifelong fascination with flight. He had to step away for a few years when work and other activities took precedence, but he recently joined a flying 吃瓜头条.

鈥淚 call it delightfully terrifying,鈥� he says of piloting a plane by himself. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 up there there鈥檚 no roadside assistance, there is no instructor. There is only me. I have to bail myself out if [anything goes wrong].鈥�

He finds the deep focus of flying to be relaxing. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no thinking about what was going on at work, or those bylaws at all the meetings you go to. You are locked into the airplane; you need to know what鈥檚 going on around you and look at all the gauges. So yeah, it鈥檚 relaxing because you are only focused on one thing.鈥�

That intense focus allows him to see the bigger picture, like the colorful summer beach umbrellas and beach 吃瓜头条s dotting the coast of Block Island as he flies above or the technicolor greens, yellows, reds, and oranges of New England on a clear fall day.

And, as in boating, his renewed interest in flying has led to an interest in what goes on behind the scenes鈥攈e鈥檚 already on a committee at the flying 吃瓜头条 reviewing their 21-year-old bylaws.

Another passion of McGhee鈥檚 is the motorcycle. For the past 19 years, this has been his favorite method for getting around on the ground, whether that is heading to work (about a 20-mile/32-km ride one-way, which he does regularly unless the weather dips well below freezing) or taking long rides along the south coast of Massachusetts.

The Coming Year

McGhee is excited about the endless possibilities for 吃瓜头条 in the coming years. While recognizing that he is just one person, he also hopes to inspire and help more people see the power of the organization and what it can do for others.

But he recognizes that change often comes from the roots, and that鈥檚 where he wants to focus.

鈥淐hange doesn鈥檛 start with World Headquarters. It doesn鈥檛 start with the Board of Directors. It starts with: What do you feel when you walk into the door of your 吃瓜头条? If that鈥檚 good, things are going to turn out great, but if it doesn鈥檛, it鈥檚 not. It鈥檚 just not. So it is incumbent upon all of us to remember how we felt when we came in the door鈥攖he warmth, the sense of wonder, the sense that you could do more, be more, that you had that support.鈥�

He recognizes that while having a stellar education program and a nimble online experience are important and make things smoother, the main thing is what happens in the 吃瓜头条, and having excited and motivated members. What sticks is what happens in the 吃瓜头条 and having members so excited and motivated.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the part where I feel like we got lost. I鈥檓 trying to figure out how do we bring that back. How do we get back to the basics?鈥�

He hopes he can motivate people to see their own possibilities by being vulnerable himself, and staying authentic, even if that looks different than people might expect from an International President.

鈥淚 know there have been leaders where you think, I could never be that person. I鈥檇 never be that good, and I don鈥檛 want to do that. I want to be somebody that you could look at and say, I could do that, I could be that, because if I can make you realize that, then you might work toward it yourself.鈥�

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