Ret. Gen. Colin Powell -- former U.S. secretary of state and one-time leader of 350,000 troops -- knows how to make an entrance.

"Sit down, you're making me nervous," barked the general in the good-natured tone perfected over five decades of Army leadership, politics, and diplomacy.

Having stared down world leaders and stood up to the four American presidents he served, Powell could hardly have been intimidated by the 50 students who rose in unison as he entered Golden Auditorium Friday.

Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, education activist, and entrepreneur, spoke to students Monday about how to become an effective leader in today's America.

Castillo Kickbusch told students that leadership is about authenticity, transparency, and passion. To become an effective leader, she said, students must align themselves with what they love.

As the former chief executive officer and president of seven companies, including Revlon and DelMonte, Robert A. Fox '59 knows a thing or two about being an effective leader.

On Wednesday, Fox returned to Colgate's campus -- the place he credits with giving him "the building blocks for success" -- to offer leadership advice to about 200 students taking part in a three-day leadership training program.

"Leaders are not born, they are created over time," said Fox during his keynote address in Love Auditorium, officially kicking off the Robert A. Fox '59 Leadership Institute.

It's a conundrum that would have baffled Peter Drucker: When five dozen emerging leaders meet at a restaurant, who orders first?