Giuliani Discusses Core Principles of Leadership

Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani served as the opening keynote speaker for AAMGA’s annual meeting, where he addressed a jam-packed breakfast crowd. Promoting his new book titled “Leadership,” Giuliani said that the principles of leadership are largely universal and can be applied to just about anything in life—business, pleasure or tragedy. Based on lessons he has learned from a lifetime in public service, Giuliani outlined a few key points from his book. Below are six principles of leadership Mayor Giuliani discussed during his keynote speech.

No. 1: Belief. “In order to be an effective leader, you have to know what is important to you … you have to know what you believe in,” he said.

No. 2: Optimism. “If you want to be a leader, you have to be an optimist. By and large people follow hopes, dreams and solutions to problems,” he said.

No. 3: Courage. “You have to have courage and that doesn’t mean the absence of fear. Life is about managing your fears,” he said. “If you want to be a leader you have to have courage.”

No. 4: Relentless preparation. “If you want to be a leader, you have to be prepared,” he said. “The unexpected won’t be that unexpected, if you prepare over and over again.”

No. 5: Teamwork. “The best way to put together a good team is to balance the team with your weaknesses,” he added. “It is critically important to find your weaknesses and then balance them with other people’s strengths.”

No. 6: Communication. “To be an effective leader, you have to communicate to people what is expected of them.”