Recently, I attended a memorial
service for Dennis Dammerman, a retired GE executive and one of the very first
people I interviewed with at GE 30 years ago. He was a mentor and friend to me
and a great leader for GE.
Dennis was
proof of the power of GE’s meritocracy. He started at the bottom and worked his
way to the top, ultimately becoming CFO and a vice chairman. He was
tough-minded but fair; a great coach. He had excellent judgment and displayed
calmness during crisis. He was loyal, and he loved his work. Simply put, he was
representative of the best from GE.
GE is a
company that takes great pride in developing leaders, like Dennis; and it is
something I’m asked about often. People want to not only know about our philosophy
for cultivating the next generation of leaders but also sometimes the more
difficult question of how we differentiate among senior executives. How do you
evaluate the talent at the very top of GE, or any other organization?
I always ask
five questions about our top leaders:
1) Is the leader self-aware?
Everyone has
strengths and weaknesses. We can all improve, and we should embrace cultures of
continuous learning. But top leaders cannot allow weak spots to be blind spots.
We all need an accurate perspective of what we do well and where we need work.
You can’t lead credibly without it.
2) Is the leader committed to
the company/organization; do they drive change?
Senior
leadership positions are tough jobs and we live in hyper-competitive times.
Success requires real effort, and at the senior levels of a company like GE the
ability to drive change distinguishes you. It’s not easy and you have to be
stubborn; you have to be resilient. After all, every idea begins with a
constituency of one. There’s probably one or two times a year that I turn to
our very top leaders and say, “we’re going to do it my way.” Do that too often
and good people will leave. But if you never do it, nothing ever happens. Trust
your instinct (and make sure you have the right instincts).
3) Is the leader a "giver
or a taker?"
Just as the best leaders need to go with their gut, they must
also be responsive to those around them. They realize that open, respectful,
transparent conflict is a hallmark of great companies. Top leaders must also
give back to the culture to make it meaningful and lasting. Build a WE not a ME organization. You have to inspire
people. An idea or initiative may start with that constituency of one, but
eventually you need buy-in from a company of many (about 300,000, in fact, at
GE).
4) Is the leader a critical
thinker?
It is easy to
follow the crowd and allow the status quo. It is also the way companies and
organizations get in trouble. The very best leaders avoid “group think.”
Instead, they look at challenges through different lenses and from different
perspectives. They understand context and have a strategic sense of how to put
things where they fit both within the organization and in the world. As a
matter of imperative, the top leaders know how to simplify. This might be the
most important leadership trait of our time. The very best leaders cut through
the complexity. Every process drives speed and accountability. They get
results.
5) Lastly, does the leader have
a dream for themselves and the company?
Good leaders
have passion. They have a vision. They think and dream big.
At GE, we view
leadership development as integral to our culture and our future. We try to
create global leaders, people who can navigate the complexity of our times with
clarity, courage and integrity. I believe we have a pretty good track record.
Dennis Dammerman was proof of that. But I also know we don’t have all the
answers.
What
attributes do you look for in a top leader?
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