This post was written by Hatchet Staff Writer Catherine Moran.

A former ambassador, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, governor and U.S. senator offered advice on successful leadership Thursday night during a panel discussion at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Four dignitaries sprinkled in stories from their work experiences with their advice for an audience about about 100 people as part of the Paul O’Dwyer lecture series hosted by the Graduate School of Political Management.

Mark Kennedy, the director of the Graduate School of Political Management, questioned the four panelists during the hour-long event. They focused on how pressure pushed them to succeed and how they have used made compromises.

Here are some highlights from the event:

1. Use challenges to stretch beyond your comfort zone

Mary Landrieu, a former U.S. senator from Louisiana, said that she wouldn’t have run for office when she was 23 if she hadn’t pushed herself beyond her comfort zone.

Even though Landrieu said she has always been “impatient and organized and the A-personality type,” she faced challenges with public speaking on the campaign trail.

She said that her father told her she needed to learn how to speak in public if she wanted to succeed. Taking his advice, Landrieu accepted an invitation from the president of St. Mary’s Dominican College to give a speech at the school’s last commencement ceremony before it closed.

“The speech at Dominican was horrible,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’m just never going to speak again.’”

Landrieu said she worked past it and the next speech she gave was “the best speech of [her] life.”

Throughout her career, Landrieu said she her original graduation speech catastrophe served as a reminder of how far she has come.

“You’ll have that moment of fear, and you have to overcome it to be the kind of leader you want to be,” she said.

2. Organization and leadership trumps expertise

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino said that experience isn’t always necessary to land a dream job.

She said that she tried to talk her way out of the offer when she was initially offered the position as transportation secretary because she did not know much about transportation.

“I said, ‘Listen sir, I’ve got to level with you. I don’t know how to use a tire gauge and some of my friends will tell you that I’m not that great of a driver,’” she said.

Cino got the job despite her disclaimers because of her leadership skills, she said.

3. The best leadership preparation is constant

Deborah Jones, a former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait and Libya, said people encounter challenges constantly that prepare them for leadership.

Jones said when she lived in Tucson, she used to randomly pick a number of steps to walk with her dog in the beating dessert sun. She described her endurance training as “bigger than thirst and the desire to get back to air conditioning.”

She said that her willingness to take on simple challenges helped her succeed with dangerous assignments when she worked in Baghdad.

“I was prepared to do any job that needed doing,” she said. “I had the courage.”

4. Consider the other side

Former Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño said considering other people’s viewpoints has helped him compromise and make decisions.

“Human nature is the same the world over,” he said. “People are fine if you’re giving them something. They’re not if you’re taking them away.”

Fortuño said by working with and understanding the viewpoints of other leaders, he was able to save thousands of jobs and save money.