Applied Leadership in Project Management

¶ … successful examples of leadership in business, especially if we take note of the key changes that the company has underwent during his management, is Jack Welch, CEO at General Electrics for twenty years, a real "tiger Woods of management," by the words of his friend, Warren Buffett, chairman at Berkshire Hathaway. Jack Welch's own biography, "Jack -- Straight from the Gut," is the best material to reflect the example of leadership that Jack Welch represented during the 80s and chief of General Electrics. Chapter 24, "What this CEO things is all about," gives a keen insight into the leadership process, as perceived by the former CEO of General Electrics, along with a concluding list of characteristics a successful leader should have.

The first and most important thing Welch lists is integrity

. A successful leader must have integrity and only one agenda for everybody: customers, shareholders, suppliers etc. Integrity helps built a reputation, something which is essential in business and without which successful business relationships cannot function correctly. If the business partner knows you will be giving him a straightforward situation and a sincere answer, he will know you are something to do business with.

Setting the tone is one of the leader's important functions, according to Welch. In his own words, "the organization takes its cue from the person on top"

. First of all, it is a matter of example. Employees that see their manager working 12-14 hours a day and laying down an impressive effort to commit to the specific jobs he has in plan and to subject himself to the overall strategic objectives of the company, are likely to handle themselves in a similar manner.

On the other hand, I would also interpret Jack Welch's words in terms of vision: setting a tone means that it is the leader's duty and job to define a vision for the employees, see that everybody understands it and work with the employees for its achievement. This is, in my opinion, one of the fundamental differences between a manager and a leader. A manager recognizes the necessities of the company and works in order to solve them. I would see him as a short and medium planner and organizer. On the other hand, a leader sets a long-term vision and guides the company towards its achievement.

On the other hand, according to Jack Welch, people come first and the strategy second

. The most important issue for him is "getting the right people in the right jobs"

rather than developing a strategy. Strategies, in their purest form, is a pleasant presentation and a set of objectives one is determined to attain. Unless the right people adopt a strategy, believe in it and are determined to carry it through, it will remain at the same level and will produce lousy results. From GE history, Welch exemplifies with the ultrasound and services branches, which had remained unsuccessful projects until the right people were placed in charged of them and helped carry them through.

Informality is also something Jack Welch believes should be implemented in an organization. According to Welch, informality is about getting to everybody the message that they all count, they all have an important role in the organization, a determining act in their own way.

On the other hand, informality improves communication, both besides members of the same hierarchical level and on the top-down communication path. An informal atmosphere will encourage the members of the organization to approach the top management on issues they may have at hand and, on the other hand, will create better premises on delivering the leaders' message to the employees.

Welch encouraged self-confidence at General Electrics, as the best tool to encourage debating ideas and learning in the organization. The explanation in this sense was quite simple. A self-confident person is never afraid to have his ideas challenged and will always find pleasure in having an argumentation on a set of given ideas. Such an exchange of ideas will ultimately lead to learning and to increasing the level of knowledge within the organization.

Passion. Passion is something that can set incredible trends within an organization and for Jack Welch it was something top management at GE always looked for when selecting the GE managers. Passion is not necessarily an external manifestation, but rather an internal feeling that is transmitted to the people you work with. They receive the message that you believe in what you are proposing and what are requiring from the organization's employees.

The celebrations Welch refers to come as a completion of the informal environment I have referred to. Celebrations are excellent forms of rewards that come to recognize the fact that a team is performing well and is reaching its achievements and proposed targets. It also brings a dose of fun to the job, which for many is considered only a job, a place of work

. It can also be turned into something fun and something fun can turn people to be more productive and efficient.

It is important how rewards reflect the actual activity of the employees. An employee needs to feel satisfied with the reward he receives and believe that it fully reflects the activity he has underwent within the organization.