Major General Malcolm B. Frost, U.S. Army retired, brought lessons in leadership, preparation, and resilience to Holy Cross College on Sept. 11 as the opening speaker in the third year of the Leading the Holy Cross Way series.
Held on Patriot Day and the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the conversation invited students to consider how trusted leaders respond amid volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, an environment commonly described as VUCA.
President Marco J. Clark, Ed.D., introduced Frost as an example of the “different kind of leader” Holy Cross seeks to form. Clark connected Frost’s career to the College’s call to develop the competence to see, the courage to act and the willingness to pursue greatness in service of something larger than oneself.
Frost illustrated those qualities through the story of Rick Rescorla, Morgan Stanley’s director of security at the World Trade Center. Rescorla insisted that employees regularly practice evacuating the building, preparation that helped save thousands of lives on September 11, 2001.
Amid the chaos, Rescorla urged employees to “take care of each other” as he calmly directed them from the tower. He was later killed after returning inside to help others.
“He didn’t just lead himself. He led others,” Frost said.
Frost also encouraged students to build trust, prepare for difficult moments and approach disagreement with curiosity. Instead of responding defensively, he recommended asking, “Can you help me understand?”
Preparation, he explained, allows leaders to rely on their training rather than react for the first time during a crisis. Growth also requires honest reflection. Frost encouraged students to regularly ask themselves: “What was supposed to happen? What really happened? What do we need to sustain or improve?”
His closing challenge was direct: “Be the leaders that do and act and win.”