GE's Perspective on Leadership

The following is taken from an HBR article by Susan Peter, GE's vice president of executive development and chief learning officer who I worked with twenty years ago early in my career.

GE has always been progressive in Leadership development and my career and many individuals and companies have benefited.


What kind of leaders will be most effective in this novel and shifting landscape? I believe they share five common characteristics, core values that we at GE, through decades of evaluation and refinement, have found to be predictors of success:

1. Tomorrow's global leaders possess an exemplary external focus — they collaborate not only with customers but with a wide range of stakeholders including governments, regulators, NGOs, and community groups.
2. Leaders are adaptive and agile, clear thinkers who are not only decisive but able to connect strategy to purpose in a way that fosters commitment.
3. Leaders possess both the imagination to innovate and the courage to implement — they're willing to take risks to champion ideas.
4. Leaders are inclusive — it's the only way to build great teams.
5. Leaders constantly seek to deepen their expertise and motivate others to do the same.

Great leaders never stop evolving. And in the end, they do the one thing that makes the biggest difference: They help others thrive. By creating development opportunities that align with their guiding values, we can equip leaders at all levels to overcome tomorrow's challenges and inspire them to navigate the complexities of a new age with clarity, courage, and integrity.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/02/how_ge_is_attracting_and_devel.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29