My bosses cautioned me about my candor. Now my GE career is over, and I'm telling you that it was my candor that helped make it work.
Interpretation
Candor, or honesty, is crucial in leadership, even if it can come with risks.
In this quote, Jack Welch reflects on the importance of being candid in a leadership role. Although he faced cautions from his superiors about his open and honest communication style, he ultimately believes that this very candor was pivotal to his career's success, suggesting that transparency can foster trust and effectiveness in leadership.
In practice
During a team meeting to discuss project progress, I shared my candid thoughts using Jack Welch's quote to emphasize the value of honesty.
You've got to eat while you dream. You've got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both. Walking and chewing gum if you will. Getting it done in the short-range, and delivering a long-range plan, and executing on that.
I wanted to change the rules of engagement, asking for more- from fewer. I was insisting that we had to have only the best people...If you wanted excellence, at a minimum, the ambience had to reflect excellence.
A leader's role is not to control people or stay on top of things, but rather to guide, energize and excite.
Control your own destiny or someone else will.
The idea flow from the human spirit is absolutely unlimited. All you have to do is tap into that well. I don't like to use the word efficiency. It's creativity. It's a belief that every person counts.
An overburdened, overstretched executive is the best executive, because he or she doesn't have the time to meddle, to deal in trivia, to bother people.
There's so much more involved with the game than just sitting there, looking at the numbers and saying, 'OK, these are my percentages, then I'm going to do it this way,' because that one time it doesn't work could cost your team a football game, and that's the thing a head coach has to live with, not the professor.
Leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth.
We don't need giant personalities to transform companies. We need leaders who build not their own egos but the institutions they run.
Commitment and credibility go hand in hand.
We cannot lead anyone farther than we have been ourselves.
First of all, you've got to have a vision of 'What kind of program do I want to have?' Then you've got to have a plan to implement it. Then you've got to set the example that you want, develop the principles and values that are important, and get people to buy into it.
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