Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani delivered an address on “Leadership in Difficult Times” at UCLA Dec. 12, kicking off a three-day interdisciplinary conference held on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
Giuliani, widely praised for his strength and leadership following the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, is a hot commodity on the national speaking circuit. Giuliani filled the 1,800 seat Royce Hall Auditorium, for which tickets were $20 general admission and $10 for UCLA faculty, staff, and students.
The Time Magazine 2001 Person of the Year’s one-hour address at UCLA, co-sponsored by UCLA and the Foundation for Psycho-cultural Research, carried a price tag that the L.A. Times put at $100,000, but Giuliani’s press aide did not comment on the actual sum.
A seasoned speaker, Giuliani swiftly made a connection with his audience. He explained that he would not be using the podium because he believed in making eye contact with his audience, which was comprised of scholars, students and avid “Rudy” fans. Chancellor Albert Carnesale was also in attendance.
Intermingled with Giuliani’s discussion of four principles of effective leadership, taken from his newly released book, “Leadership,” were a sprinkling of jokes about ringing cell phones and New York City accents.
On the topic of crisis, Giuliani said, “My theory is that the way you deal with crisis is very much the same whether it is personal, business-related, societal or governmental.” He related this theory to his own personal battle with prostate cancer as well as his role in Sept. 11 crisis management.
Successful leadership, Giuliani said, stems from having a core set of principles that guide your life, being an optimist, and relying on a loyal team to bridge the gaps of personal weakness.
Giuliani recognized two of his own “loyal team,” Rosemary O’Keefe, former commissioner in the New York City Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit and Richard Sheirer, former city director of emergency management, who were in the crowd.
In response to questions about the risk of future terrorist attacks, Giuliani said “we do face being attacked again, which we need to ready ourselves for” and that “the best way to prepare for the unanticipated is to prepare for the anticipated.”
While Giuliani admitted that facing the great possibility of other attacks creates anxiety, stress, and fear, he told his audience, “Courage is the management of fear, not the absence of fear.”
Asked about his advice for students developing in the “Age of Terror,” Giuliani jokingly replied, “Study!” In a more serious tone, he said that the best way to become leaders in a time of crisis was to find good role models. In his speech, Giuliani cited Martin Luther King Jr., his former boss President Ronald Reagan, and Winston Churchill as his personal role models.
The Trauma, Culture, and the Brain Conference will explore biological, clinical, and cultural approaches to trauma’s effects, and will conclude Sunday, Dec. 15.