Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

38 LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
ership we need to emphasize. . . . It takes courage to rethink your
leadership paradigm. But I recognized that if I wanted the company
to change, that I would have to change myself. And, a good leader is
never too old to learn” 46 (Accurate Self-Assessment)
One of the best practices he identified to improve on and shared
with the cadets was listening. “I decided that I needed to be a better
listener coming out of the crisis. I felt like I should have done more
to anticipate the radical changes that occurred. To that end, about
twice each month, I invite one of our top 25 leaders to a Saturday
session where we talk about the company, the future, and each
other. At that session, we are ‘two friends talking.’ I encourage an
open critique of each other. Listening in this way has built trust and
commitment. My top leaders want to be in a company where their
voice is heard.” 47 (Building Bonds, Developing Others)
Immelt spends four to five days a month with customers as well
as attending two town-hall meetings per month with hundreds of
customers. He initiated “dreaming sessions” with them. Together,
Immelt and customers brainstorm where the business will be in five
to ten years. (Service Orientation) In 2010 GE will spend almost $6
billion to launch 100 new products.
GE spends more than $1 billion a year on training and education
programs. Immelt says he spends 30% of his own time teaching and
coaching. This is a huge commitment to leadership development
and follows a practice of Welch’s, who was known to spend more
than 50% of his time teaching leadership to his people. 48 (Developing
Others)
Immelt’s ritual around self-management and renewal includes
getting up every morning at 5:30 and working out for an hour on
the treadmill, stair stepper, and elliptical trainer while watching
the news and sports. 49
Following are the EI competencies for Jeffrey Immelt, shining
with stars across all four clusters.