Speaker defines leadership

Timothy Rink / Reporter

Rear Admiral Craig Quigley (Ret.) spoke about leadership at Elon University on Monday, Jan. 2 as part of the Leadership Speaker Series. He gave a lecture in Whitley Auditorium, which was followed by a Q&A segment. He also spoke with several classes and students.

Quigley served in the Navy for 27 years and was the top uniformed spokesperson for the military during the Sept. 11 attacks. His speech, 'Communicating with the World in Real Time: Crisis Leadership on 9-11 and the Time Ahead' focused on the immediate government response to the terrorist attacks.

The leadership qualities Quigley stressed were courage, transparency, honesty, integrity and concern for the welfare of the public. He claimed that it was very important for a leader to be visible, but not to over promise.
To explain his application of these qualities, Quigley shared the three rules he used for addressing the press while he worked in the Pentagon.

"Never let them see you sweat," he began. He also stressed the importance of not losing your temper because it "might make you feel good to vent, but you aren't proud later when you look at the tape."

Finally, he said: "Never guess; you might get it right, but if you get it wrong you will never catch up with yourself because news travels fast."

He cited the CEO of Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol crisis of 1982 as an example of effective leadership. "He had imperfect knowledge, and he stepped up to the podium before he had that knowledge."

He also credited President George W. Bush for his response to 9-11. "I think that was George Bush's finest hour," he said. "The country was scared. For what we knew there were 50 airplanes running at 50 targets."

However, he criticized the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina at all levels. He criticized Bush for not being a visible leader and for having ineffective subordinates. "We had a leader that was very ineffective, didn't communicate, wasn't visible, and didn't lead," he said.

Quigley also criticized Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco who he said "crumbled on camera," and New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin who "tried to point the blame at everyone but himself."

"Citizens should have had higher expectations of those organizations," Quigley said.

He told the audience that the enemy in the war on terror was "evil, but not stupid," and "there's that thought in people's head that somehow, some way, we will get hit again, and I believe that's true."

Quigley stressed the importance of non-partisan cooperation in the future. "The need for strong leadership in America will not change, no matter who the president is," he said.

Contact Timothy Rink at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.