Page 46 - Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders

Ch02_Baldoni_141496-7 5/22/03 12:29 PM Page 24
24
GREAT COMMUNICATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS
Giuliani’s final words are those of the Gettysburg Address. By concluding
with these remarks, Giuliani seeks to place the suffering of New York into the
panorama of the American people’s enduring legacy of sacrifice for ideals
larger than themselves.
LEAVING OFFICE
There was one hiccup. For a few weeks, amid intense speculation—will he or
won’t he?—reminiscent of another Giuliani, he wondered in public, but
chiefly through aides, if he shouldn’t stay on as mayor past the end of his term
or, better yet, try to get permission to run for another term despite term limits.
Better judgment prevailed, and he extinguished the speculation. He left office
as planned on January 1. And when the new mayor, Michael Bloomberg, a
millionaire financier, took office, Rudy was beside him, in Times Square and
at City Hall, symbolically handing over the reins. It was fitting and graceful,
almost noble.
LEADERSHIP—THE BOOK
Giuliani’s personal account of how he responded to the attack on the World
Trade Center is a primer on leadership communications. Again and again
throughout his detailed account in his book, Leadership, he writes of the
importance of communications. He was insistent about getting the media
involved and provided them with direct access to him. He even went so far as
to conduct live on-the-spot interviews as he walked away from Ground Zero
en route to a makeshift command center. The command center, too, was an
example of coordinated on-site communications between fire, police, rescue,
and government personnel. Face to face or phone to phone, communications
are essential in responding to a crisis. As is remaining calm, something that
Giuliani speaks about frequently; even if the world around you is going to
hell, as it was with the World Trade Center, leaders need to project a sense of
calmness. 3
Curiously, his account contains a near litany of the names of people he
encountered on that fateful day. Mentioning these people reflects more than a
politician’s gift for names; it is a clue to his communications psyche. Good
leaders know that actions do not occur because you want them to; they are the
result of the actions of others. And if you want people to keep working for you,
it is important for you to acknowledge who they are, what they do, and how
well they are doing it. Giuliani is a master at this. 4
In Leadership, Giuliani offers some pithy insights into communicating as
a leader. Not surprisingly, given his strong character, Giuliani believes, as do
other leaders, that communications begins with a value system and therefore
needs to be articulated as “strong beliefs.” In line with this, Giuliani believes