Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Welch's 21 Steps to Management Greatness - 1

"Weak managers are the killers of business; they are the job killers. You can't manage self-confidence into people."

The next several posts about Jack Welch will be his specific insights into management greatness.

The basis for his comments upon are in connection to the vision of a company. That's why he said there is nothing that can be done about putting self-confidence into people. They either have it or don't.

Now when someone is starting new in a job position, they need time to get confidence from learning their responsibilities. But that's different from inner confidence.

So with that in mind, Welch understood that the greatest thing a company needs is to create a great vision and purpose. It is the embracing and communication of that vision within a company that is the ground for great business leadership in Welch's eyes.

That's where he ties it into self-confidence. If a company has a great vision, but a manager isn't confident, their communication of the vision will be weak. It won't ignite people into passionate action. It's only those with that type of confidence and that will be excited about executing and accomplishing that plan.

There's an energy that exudes from someone with self-confidence that is expressed through a great vision. It creates great energy within a company that spreads throughout a division. It also creates a healthy, competitive spirit that gets others excited and want to achieve results.

To Welch, this was the starting place for the search for quality leaders.

When you find these types of leaders, they will focus on strategic issues; they won't micromanage. They'll be glad to get everyone involved and encourage input from everyone. Their major job will to motivate and lead by example.

If we start there with ourselves and those we hire for management, it takes care of a lot of the other problems that come from someone with little confidence and passion.