Jack Welch and Tough Managers

I like Jack Welch. I like his direct approach and I have always liked his perspective on excellence. Pursue it, demand it in yourself and in everyone around you. Jack was an advocate of evaluating his entire team at regular intervals, identifying the bottom 10%, and replacing them with people who are looking to operate well above the “basement level.”

In the April 24, 2006 issue of Business Week, Jack and his wife Suzy wrote in their “The Welch Way” column about “tough managers.” The piece was in response to a question from a reader who was inquiring about tough management styles and do tough managers get more out of their people and really benefit their organizations in the long run.

Jack’s answers… Yes and Yes.

After dismissing any manager who is tough just for the hell of it, or for the purpose of making other people feel small, Jack hit the mark:

1. Tough managers get results, and
2. Not everyone sees the same manager the same way (tough or otherwise)

According to Jack’s experience, many people see a manager as being “tough” because those same people aren’t pursuing excellence (either they are not capable or no longer interested.) If expectations have been agreed upon, the real challenge may be misaligned purpose. Management in pursuit of it and certain team members not interested in the “hunt.”

If your purpose as a manager is to pursue excellence you’ve got to constantly surround yourself with team members who share that vision. I believe that’s why Jack was always evaluating and always looking to improve the entire General Electric organization. It wasn’t about cutting staff, it was about growing excellent people.

Here are six suggestions for your organization – sales team or not for building an excellent team:

1. Make sure everyone knows the mission of the group and the goals the organization is pursuing. (Best results come when the team sets the goals.)
2. Define everyone’s role within the group and what the expectations are for their position in terms of results – what will things look like when a job function is done correctly.
3. Review everyone often. Often means more than annually and semi-annually. (Quarterly, bi-monthly or even monthly is best.)
4. Reward success and take action on poor performance.
5. Give everyone a second, third and fourth chance, but always…
6. Replace your bottom 10%.

If you do steps 1 – 4 only a weak person can say your “tough” without purpose. Steps 5 and 6 will make you a developer of true talent and the builder of a successful team.

TK