Previous posts on GE Jack Welch’s 4E’s and 1P on the StratoServe blog are very popular. Sort of leads you to think about which of the four E’s and one P really matter? But first a quick recap, although they appear in earlier posts. We’ll talk about 3E’s and the the one P first and then the last piece about Execution-that most elusive managerial trait.
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- Energy: High personal energy is something you see in great leader managers. But where does personal energy really come from?
- Energize others: Top performers energize others, how are some people able to energize not only their teams but also colleagues across the organization? Also are able to energize customers and suppliers as well? Or the better question is why is someone able to spark the energy in you? They do it by simply recognizing the contribution you make and your worth to the organization and its goals. Just by accepting and recognizing you … they seem to make you motivated. Contact StratoServe.
- Edge: The top leader managers are able to say “no” without deflating the team’s energy or motivation. They explain why they say no and often are able to demonstrate with data that the “no” is fair to all parties concerned. In other words, the leader shows respect and recognition and does not fake it. Most folks accept tough decisions when they perceive that the leader has good thoughtful reasons and is fair to everyone for the sake of the task at hand. Tying these 3E’s together is the 1P:
- Passion : Although the original version of Jack Welch 4 E’s and 1 P puts the P as the overarching attribute there is a slight change in the ordering that this blog suggests.Based on a whole bunch of happiness and well-being research brought into focus since 2005 by the American Psychological Association there is increasing evidence that : Happiness—-> (leads to) —->Success and not vice versa as we tend to believe and as Shawn Achor points out. And passion supports happiness when you think about it. If you are passionate about something, you feel happy doing it. It doesn’t seem like work but seems like play. And who wouldn’t like to play all the time? So passion leads to happiness and happy people would be energetic (the first E) and would energize others and certainly would not pull them down (the second E) and are confident enough to take tough calls (the third E or edge). The problem is with the 4th E or Execution which passion alone cannot achieve even with the other 3 E’s.
4. Execution: is the ability of tying things together,explaining processes and steps clearly so that your organization is able to learn and move like a well oiled machine. This involves setting up organization routines, an organization culture of execution or the “small company” feel that Jack Welch’s successor Jeff Immelt so values in FedEx and Fred Smith. When you think FedEx you think of a well-oiled machine complete with hand held package tracking devices – an organization that literally delivers as promised !
To summarize, given the advances in happiness research“Passion”is probably the most important ingredient in the 4E’s and one P.Execution is not difficult, it’s just about training, organizational learning,processes and all that routine stuff that makes stuff happen that we call results. Execution (the 4th E) is boring and tedious at times but should probably follow passion as the most important attribute for leader-managers. About StratoServe.