Page 124 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

CHAPTER 12

LEADERS ARE GREAT

COMMUNICATORS

In his job as chief strategy officer and executive vice president for Univi-
sion Communications, America’s premiere Spanish-language media com-
pany, Cesar Conde (WHF 02–03) has worked with great communicators
every day and has had contact with some of the biggest stars in the Spanish-
speaking entertainment world. Thus, the day he watched his White House
Fellows principal, Secretary of State Colin Powell, deliver a speech in per-
son, he knew he’d just seen something extraordinary. While riding together
in a limousine after the speech, Conde complimented Powell on his speak-
ing abilities, and Powell revealed something that Conde never would have
guessed: Communicating well with others had not come naturally for
Powell. Perfecting his communication skills had taken years of study and
hard work. “He was very humble,” Conde said. “General Powell explained
that very few people are born with that ability, and he said he really had
to work at it. He realized early in his military career that great ideas and
intentions weren’t enough; he would have to become an effective commu-
nicator in order to maximize his impact.”
I asked General Powell to explain how he developed his exemplary
communication skills. He told me that it all started when he was sent to
the infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia, in the mid-1960s to become
an instructor. “I had to go to a three-week course on how to give a class—
how to talk to a bunch of lieutenants who were all heading off to Vietnam
and who really didn’t care what I had to tell them about filling out a

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