Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, addressed the Global Leadership Summit. Here are the highlights from her talk:
- When fear between a dictator and his people breaks down all that is left is angry that fuels revolution
- Leaders lead by the consent of the people they lead
- Democracy doesn’t mean the tyranny of the majority
- The strong cannot exploit the weak
- If the strong exploit the weak then democracy cannot be stable
- If every life is worthy then every life is capable of greatness therefore the strong have a responsibility to provide opportunity for greatness to the weak
- If you have the privilege too lead in difficult times there is great opportunity
- Leadership is about helping others see their own leadership potential not having followers
- The most important quality of a leader is their irrepressible optimism
- It is a privilege to struggle
- Things that one day seem impossible in retrospect seem inevitable
- Today’s headlines and history’s judgment are rarely the same
- The leader of Sudan was the most dangerous person that she ever had to deal with because he was willing to do almost anything to get what he wanted and he treated his own people poorly
- Leadership is not about you or your ego but about trying to get something done
- When things are tough people become more of who they are
- If you cannot agree with your leader on a matter of principle then you must resign
- If you do something that you know your leader will be upset about call him before he calls you
- He may be your friend but he’s the president, so his decision matters not yours
- When you are in a position of authority you need truth tellers around you…(truth telling to the leader needs to be done in private)
- You have to take energy from first chair public leadership or it will drain you
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