I’ve always liked Business Week, and one of my favorite pieces every month is the article entitled The Welchway, co-written by Jack and Suzy Welch. In the March 2 edition they describe how they view the Obama administration’s having broken three cardinal rules of leadership, and regardless of one’s politics, their points on leadership are worth reading. I’ll do a quick review here.
“First, business leaders gain nothing by showing uncertainty and indecision.” This is so basic as to often be forgotten, and for some reason these days there’s seen a virtue in showing one’s feelings regardless of position or circumstance. As the Welches point out, having these feelings is normal, and I might add in today’s business environment to be expected, but you don’t broadcast your uncertainties, fears and doubts. Not if you’re a leader or aspire to leadership. Employees, and citizens too, look to leadership for confidence that they themselves might not have. If I see my boss or my president equivocating or telling me what a mess everything is and wasting time pointing fingers, that’s not leadership.
“Second, business leaders undermine success by talking about the risk of failure.” This builds on the issue of confidence. Business and political leaders all know that strategies carry risk, and that some may well fail. And so do the rest of us. But once more, we look to leadership to hold the torch high and give a reason to believe and follow. Absent that, again, I’ll look somewhere else.
“Finally, business leaders cannot indulge bureaucratic data dumpers.” The Welches bemoan managers who drown themselves in statistics, charts and PowerPoint slides (cheer!) and become paralyzed to the point of becoming unable to make a decision. And then they take the same paralyzing information and dump it into the boss’s lap with no analysis or action steps. What help is that to leaders? None at all, and it is in fact destructive to effectiveness.
Don’t we want our leaders, whether it be our CEO or our President, to inspire us and build confidence in the future with them at the helm? I know I do. I’ve worked for companies and had bosses that haven’t done this and it rippled through the ranks like a virus. It’s discouraging and deadly. I want the same from my president as the Welches write about. I want to hear confidence in our country, its people and its institutions. And that includes the creators of wealth and the drivers of the economy.
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