Jack Welch: A Legacy of Leadership

Author: Kornik, Joseph

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Abstract: Great leadership development is the heart and soul of every company. Now more than ever,
companies should not be afraid to take risks by promoting tomorrow's leaders into those roles today.
Leadership is not about dictating, it is about empowering employees so that they recognize their ability to take
action. Make your organization a learning organization. The biggest competitive advantage that a company can
have is creating an environment where people can learn from each other. Candor works. Your job is to push for
it all the time. The thing you want in your organization is to give the people you manage the self-confidence to
express themselves candidly. At GE it was a core value. One of the things that is missing in most corporate
cultures today is the idea of celebration in the workplace. People love to know that you appreciate what they
did.

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On learning development
"Great leadership development is the heart and soul of every company. Now more than ever, companies
shouldn't be afraid to take risks by promoting tomorrow's leaders into those roles today. It's wonderful to have
an organization that is dynamic and changing and getting fresh blood into management positions. Fresh eyes
sometimes see fresh opportunities. Will they be ready? Maybe they won't all be trained perfectly, but they'll be
able to grow into their jobs if you give them the right support systems. When I left GE, my successor was 46
years old, and his direct reports averaged 38 years old. That's great stuff.
One thing that is key to remember is that leadership is inclusive, not exclusive. When you have a problem, I
think you need engage as many people as you possibly can into solving the problem.
The idea that there's just one right view is absolutely crazy. When you've got a crisis, you've got to reach to
every level of your organization and find every place where knowledge may live. It's part of what I called a
"rolemodel atmosphere" at GE.
Leadership is not about dictating, it's about empowering employees so that they recognize their ability to take
action. And highlight it when they do. When somebody had a great idea at GE, we'd fly that person in to
showcase the idea. You should always be showcasing your people's great ideas. That's part of a role model
atmosphere and it works. People need to feel that their contributions are important. Always give them voice and
dignity. That's what leaders do. And that's how leaders build leaders. But implementing that and making that
real is a lot harder than just saying it."
On a learning organization
"Make your organization a learning organization. The biggest competitive advantage that a company can have
is creating an environment where people can learn from each other. You have to have an insatiable desire to
learn. Shared knowledge is how you have to think about everything today. Get your organization thinking that
way every day, and you will generate incredible energy and intellect within your organization.
We ran management development courses, business management courses and executive development
courses every year (see "GE Hones its Leaders at Crotonville," Page 25), and those courses were three weeks
long. We didn't bring in Harvard professors; we had our own people teaching it so our employees could see
what a leader looked like-again that ties into the role-model atmosphere. When I tell other CEOs that these
were three-week courses, they pass out. They'd say 'Three weeks away from the job, how can you do it?' I said,
'How can you not do it?' These employees form a network with each other; they learn who is good. When they
get promoted someday, they'll know who to steal from another department. And going was a reward. It was a
big deal. I think leadership development is critical, especially to a large organization. It's where the bonds are
formed, it's where the intimate knowledge across businesses are formulated.
And don't be afraid to go outside your company as well. You have to fight every day to get rid of NIH-not
invented here-at your company. The biggest untapped learning resource you have is other companies' intellect,
and all you have to do is ask for it. Nothing flatters a manager at another company more than having the
opportunity to show you how they do things. There isn't a company out there that isn't proud to show you how it
works at their company. Wal-Mart does it. Toyota does it. Everybody does it. All you have to do is ask."
On hiring
"Hiring is one of the toughest things you'll ever do. I probably succeeded 50 percent of the time in my earlier
days, but after having done it for 35 or 40 years, I got a little better and ended up at probably around 80 percent-
at best. You never really know how someone is going to perform in that next job.
I had some fundamental things that I looked for in potential employees. Do they have the energy to grow a
global organization? Do they have the energy to go like hell all the time? Can they energize others? Can they
excite others enough to go along with them? If they can't, all the energy in the world won't matter. Do they have
an edge? Meaning do they say 'yes' or 'no,' or are they those awful managers who say 'Let me get back to you
in a month, and we'll look at it again.' You don't want those people around. Do they execute? Do they get it
done? Do they have passion? Do they care more than the next person? Do they care about winning? And if
you're hiring for a high-level job, I always looked for authenticity. Is this person comfortable in their own shoes?
If they are, they'll be more able to see around corners. Anyone can know what's right in front of them. It's seeing
what others don't see-that's the stuff of greatness. And when you hire somebody and they don't deliver-take
action. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is they hate to admit that they made that mistake. You're
not doing employees any favors by keeping them in a job that's not right for them. Let them move elsewhere
and get on with their lives. Let them be comfortable again so they can build that self-confidence back up."
On appraisal
"I hate e-mails with 50 names on top. I also think the "Reply All" button should be thrown away. I think a
personal note still means something. Four times a year anyone who worked for me got evaluated face to face. It
was half of a page, handwritten. It said what I liked about what you were doing, and where I think you could
improve. Then we sat and chatted about it. Employees always knew where they stood with me. You can't just
be appraising people at that annual review time. You've got to constantly keep people up to speed on where
they stand.
At GE, my people got an appraisal every time they got a raise, every time they got a promotion, every time they
got a stock option. No employee should ever, ever get a raise without an appraisal. No one should ever be
given a bonus without an appraisal. I know companies that give stock options through the mail. Just open the
envelope-that's the event. C'mon; it's an exchange; it's a time to engage them; a time to get people involved. It's
about developing a relationship with an employee when you give them an award. You should be telling them
why you gave it to them and what they can do to get more.
Candor works. Your job is to push for it all the time. The thing you want in your organization is to give the people
you manage the self-confidence to express themselves candidly. At GE it was a core value. Be candid in every
relationship, with each other, with customers and with suppliers. If you didn't have it, you didn't make the grade.
GE didn't have this system 25 years ago. We had the formal appraisal system and the boss checked the right
boxes and the employee said the right things; you put the form in the drawer and that was it-there was no more
discussion on appraisal or performance for another year.
But candor accelerates everything; it gets everybody in the game. If you're a manager, you have a major
obligation to let everyone within your organization know exactly where they stand at all times. Too often
managers take the position that I'm too kind to let people know where they stand. Then what happens? A
business slowdown occurs and you have to walk down the hall and let Mary or Joe go. Why? Because they
haven't measured up. And they say, 'But I've been here 23 years, why didn't anyone ever tell me this before?' I
never just threw people out. We'd have an appraisal meeting, and they would leave on their own. They knew
where they stood; they never got surprised. Candor eliminates surprises. Candor will make life a lot easier for
everybody, and it'll improve performance dramatically."
On performance
"My advice to someone who wants to be recognized today is over deliver on everything. Always think about
going above and beyond what the assignment is. The silliest thing people do is fulfill the assignments from their
bosses. Over deliver. Think beyond the assignment and bring new and bigger insights to the issue. Drive up the
scope of the challenge; make the ideas bigger; challenge the leader to learn from new insights that you bring to
the game. Those are the people who help grow a business.
Always have great people around you. I was always desperately trying to have people smarter than me working
for me. I was always searching for those people-always wanting the best and brightest around me. I love
hanging around with bright, fun people. I was never uncomfortable having people much smarter than I was
working for me. I relished it. I relished the learning that came along with it. It's your job as a leader to give them
what they need to achieve and grow, but not to meddle in their business. Let them do their job. Your job is not to
be all over these people. Encourage them, let them flourish, challenge them, but don't meddle in their business
all the time. It's bad for them, and it's bad for you."
On motivation
One of the things that's missing in most corporate cultures today is the idea of celebration in the workplace.
We're all moving toward one goal. Let's celebrate small victories. Why make work drudgery? Why not
celebrate? Is it because your culture doesn't embrace it? Is it because you think your boss will think you're
wasteful? I'm not talking about buying everyone a Mercedes-an occasional cake will do. I'm talking about some
spontaneous recognition of achievements.
It can be as simple as tickets to a show on Broadway or tickets to a ballgame. If you have tickets to sporting
events, and you've got the fat cats up in the luxury boxes all the time, give those tickets away to the people in
the organization now and again.
People love to know that you appreciate what they did. This is crazy that people aren't celebrating more. At GE,
I preached celebration over and over again. Somehow it was just in my blood. I tried from the first day I joined
the company to bring it. I think you have to have fun in the workplace. That's part of your job. There's no excuse
for not doing it. Don't ever be too busy to do it; don't ever be too cheap to do it. Celebration is really one of your
biggest obligations.
Your job is to never be a bore. If you're a bore, slap yourself. People should want to come to work, they should
want hang around with you. They should love the passion that you show for them, their work and their job. You
have to create an atmosphere of fun and of winning. People don't want to leave that atmosphere. You have to
be looking where people are moving out of your organization and ask yourself why. If we had a boss at GE that
was losing our high potentials, it wasn't long before we lost the boss. I was always proud of the way we treated
employees. In 21 years as head of GE, we never had a union. Whenever there was talk of forming a union, it
sent us a very loud message-we had a jackass as a plant manager."
On change
"First off, you've got to spell out the reason for the change as clear as it could be. I would communicate it
constantly to everyone. Make your changes transparent. Nothing can be secret. Then, identify the change-
agents in your company. It's a very small group-probably less than 10 percent of the employees. These are the
people who are going to drive the change. Then, I would look for the resisters and try to convince them for a
very brief period of time, but I wouldn't waste too much time on them. If you believe in your change and you've
articulated it clearly, and it's still not getting through, move them out. Get the resisters out of leadership
positions. You don't want them around when you're trying to implement change."
Sidebar
Jack Welch spent more than 40 years at General Electric. During his tenure as chairman and CEO from 1981
until his retirement in 2001, GE's market value grew from $13 billion to $400 billion. In 2000, he was named
Manager of the Century by Fortune magazine and was voted Most Admired CEO of the past 20 years by the
readers of Chief Executive magazine in 2005. He is the author of the bestselling books Jack: Straight From the
Gut and Winning. Welch revealed some lessons on leadership in a keynote address at the FranklinCovey
Symposium in Dallas last month. Here's a recap of his secrets of success he shared with executives at the
symposium.
Enlarge this image.
Sidebar
I always looked for authenticity. Is this person comfortable in their own shoes? If they are, they'll be more able
to see around corners. Anyone can know what's right in front of them. It's seeing what others don't see-that's
the stuff of greatness.
Sidebar
Your job is to never be a bore. If you're a bore, slap yourself.
Sidebar
I was always proud of the way we treated employees. In 21 years as head of GE, we never had a union.
Whenever there was talk of forming a union, it sent us a very loud message-we had a jackass as a plant
manager.
Enlarge this image.
Sidebar
At GE, I preached celebration over and over again. Somehow it was just in my blood. I think you have to have
fun in the workplace. There's no excuse for not doing it. Don't ever be too busy to do it; don't ever be too cheap
to do it. Celebration is one of your biggest obligations.

Subject: Diversified companies; Success factors; Leadership; Management styles; Chief executive officers;

Location: United States--US

People: Welch, John F

Company / organization: Name: General Electric Co; NAICS: 332510, 334290, 334512, 334518;

Classification: 9190: United States; 9530: Diversified companies; 2200: Managerial skills

Publication title: Training; Minneapolis

Volume: 43

Issue: 5

Pages: 20-24

Number of pages: 5

Publication year: 2006

Publication date: May 2006

Place of publication: Minneapolis

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Management

ISSN: 00955892

CODEN: TRNGB6

Source type: Trade Journals

Language of publication: English

Document type: Cover Story

Document feature: Photographs

ProQuest document ID: 203420592

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/203420592?accountid=13044

Copyright: Copyright VNU eMedia, Inc. May 2006

Last updated: 2011-07-20

Database: ProQuest Central

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