03.07.08 
General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), Shares Leadership Advice During Southeastern's 2008 Leadership Forum

By Southeastern University

More than 800 people from across the country came to Southeastern to hear General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.), speak on "Taking Charge" during the university's National Leadership Forum. Powell served as the 65th Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. He also served as a key aide to the secretary of defense and as a national security advisor to former President Ronald Reagan.

"I don't miss anything in life," said Powell. "I don't ever look through the rearview mirror. I always look out the windshield in the front, and that's the way I always want to live."

During Powell's talk, he kept the crowd laughing with stories on retirement. He is often asked if he misses serving as Secretary of State. His response is that he only misses one thing--being able to step from a red carpet onto his own private airplane.

Powell currently travels all over the United States talking on leadership. "I love meeting new groups of people everywhere I go," said Powell. "I find Americans hard at work and optimistic about the future. I love that sense of optimism and wish I could bottle it up and take it back to Washington."

Other current passions of Powell's include raising money for a Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington D.C. and for the construction of an education center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

"After 50 years of service, what I've learned is leadership is leadership is leadership," said Powell. As Secretary of State or the leader of any organization, I would use the same techniques of leadership I've used my entire life." He shared that to have a good organization, leaders must serve the followers, and everyone needs to have a clear purpose of what is trying to be achieved. In his experience, troops will follow you when they trust you. "The essence of a whole servant-leader relationship rests on trust. Your success comes from the elements of trust you have built."

Powell is the author of his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey. He received a bachelor's degree from The City College of New York and a master's degree from The George Washington University.

Southeastern's three-day National Leadership Forum is an innovative and creative approach to teaching the servant leadership concept in academic, business, and church communities. Southeastern President Dr. Mark Rutland launched the Forum last year to bring people together at Southeastern to discover how they can better serve as leaders.

In addition to Powell, former Florida governor Jeb Bush was among other nationally known leaders who spoke at the 2008 National Leadership Forum.