Jeffrey Immelt took over at the helm of GE, stepping into Jack Welch’s shoes in 2001. In this address to a graduating class from Stanford University in 2010, he talks about the 10 Traits of an effective leader:
- Listening analytically
- Being adaptable in a volatile world
- Managing relationships
- Simplifying everything (especially structure, metrics, accountability and focus)
- Being a Systems Thinker
- Having courage and patience to see things through
- Knowing and understanding how things can fail
- Managing people who are different from you
- Leading from the front (being accountable and authentic)
- Liking people