Truth 38
A Leader Cares Passionately About Developing People

General Electric didn't just "bring good things to life"; it brought good leaders to light. When former employees of the company got together for a reunion recently, they found that many of their old colleagues were now heads of large and small businesses across North America and the globe. They toasted GE and their great upbringing there.

A product of GE, even after he left his training ground, Larry Bossidy had a passion for talent. When he was CEO of Allied Signal and Honeywell, he ended each business review with a look at key talent. Standing across from Bossidy and his top team, the president of a subsidiary might summarize the numbers and do a quick analysis. But that was not enough. Methodically, Bossidy would ask questions about how good the talent was. Bam, bam, bam—he would go down the list of the business's top players. The underlying question to the person in charge was "How good are you at being critical and objective about your own people?" The meeting continued with probing questions, specific to the business yet broad enough to act as a barometer for how the leaders were developing.

On the basis of the answers, Bossidy would make long-term decisions about the top business leaders as well as his key talent and where they might move for development.

Success at all levels was measured by more than business trends and analysis: it depended on people and their development. A passion for talent became part of the corporate DNA at Allied Signal/Honeywell, just the way it had at GE. Nurturing talent can become part of your corporate culture as well:

• Regularly include a discussion about people when business discussions occur. Whenever you have a formal or informal meeting about organizational goals, try to include an ancillary discussion about the people who are implementing the objectives. How are they doing? How could they do better? What could get in their way? How should they deal with these things? What experiences would help them develop their skills and knowledge?

Nurturing talent can
become part of your
corporate culture.

• Ask probing questions of the leaders who report to you. To determine how they are handling business issues, ask about what they've done with problems and standards. How is so-and-so dealing with quality control in outsourcing? Did the consultant he brought in fix the problems? To find out if they understand changing market conditions, ask what they know about the competition. To find out if they are being developed properly, ask what could make them fail. And don't forget to ask how they are developing the people who report to them!

Keeping your eyes on people as well as numbers is the best way to ensure the success of your organization. Very few organizations can run without people. Make sure that you find and develop the right ones to lead both now and in the future.