Leadership Style of Jack Welch

Illustrative Case Study

• Jack Welch took over as chairman of GE in 1981
and later became 8th CEO of the company serving for entire
career
• Era of great competition when he joined
• Organization system was too bureaucratic
• His goal
• His strategy-always looking for new ways to get things done and
cut down the mgt layers
• He then slowly and gradually made sweeping changes
throughout the company
• Welch by this way brought to the company a passion for change
and a vision of how to compete
 Twelve lessons from Jack Welch’s
leadership style
• LEAD, Not MANAGE
– Welch’s goal is to lead, create a vision and make people
passionate about their work

• GET LESS FORMAL

– Jack doesn’t wear ties to work, he often holds informal
meetings and encourages everyone to lighten up

• Don’t TOLERATE Bureaucracy, BLOW it Up!

– can create waste and slow the decision making process,
leading to unnecessary approvals and procedures that make a
company less competitive.
• Face REALITY. Stop Assuming
– Initial Joining situation
– Welch made a resolution and created a “face reality” decree.
He laid out strategies and initiatives that made things better

• SIMPLIFY Things
– his goal at GE was to de-complicate work
– To Welch, business can be exciting and simple, without jargon
and complexity

• CHANGE- An Opportunity, Not a Threat

– When Welch joined GE, many didn’t understand why he
needed to make changes
– Jech Welch as initiator
• Lead by Energizing Others, not Managing by Authority
– Leadership does not mean control or command. Welch called
his leadership idea as ‘boundary less’

• Defy, not Respect Tradition

– Tried to make GE the most competitive enterprise in the
world. To him, what worked in the past would not necessarily
work in the future.

• Don’t Make Hierarchy Rule, but Intellect

– Welch believed business is about capturing intellect and that
the organization must encourage people to articulate their
ideas and solutions
– turned GE into a learning organization in which ideas and
intellect rule over tradition and hierarchy
• Put Values First, not Numbers
– Instead, the values include pleasing customers, disdaining
bureaucracy, thinking globally and being open to ideas

• Don’t try to Manage Everything, Manage Less

– Companies should encourage their employees to have their
own opinions and think for themselves
– In the end, it is the manager’s job to create the vision and let
their team act on it