The greatest part of Welch’s contribution may be in the form of giving back – by sharing his knowledge of business and management with all sorts of audience and through various speaking engagements and books he’s written in his retirement. Here’s a snip-it of what I picked up.

Image by Joshua Zumbrun

Leadership is a “People” Job

Welch bottomlined the need for people development at Leadercast by stating that “If you don’t like people, leadership stinks!” At GE, Welch calculated that 70% of his job was developing people, contrary to the belief some managers hold that it comes after regular job duties. This means looking for teachable moments throughout your day as you interact with your team. Additionally, in his book Winning, Welch harps on the necessity of candor, not only when it comes to business decisions, but personnel reviews as well. “You have no right calling yourself a leader if people don’t know where they stand with you,” Welch says.

Self-Confidence is a Must

Not only does business tend to favor the “energetic and extroverted,” as Welch acknowledges, so does society in general. But that doesn’t mean shy and introverted (albeit skilled) people lack the opportunity to succeed. The key is self-confidence. A person with self-confidence trusts his gut. She speaks up in meetings when something needs to be said (even if it’s unpopular). He knows how to get the most from his talents and takes appropriate risks in the face of uncertainty. Ultimately, it’s behavior and results, not personality, that get rewarded.

The additional point Welch stresses for leaders is their responsibility to develop self-confidence among their people. Don’t wait for them to pick it up on their own. “Pump them full of it,” he says.

Know When to Quit

One decision Welch is famous for is setting the directive that each GE business would be #1 or #2 in its industry or else get out altogether. The important element in this directive was clarity. No one needed to guess whether a business should stay open or not. They knew that if it was #3 or lower, the decision had already been made. Of course there was occasional criticism, but Welch highlighted that most leaders don’t like to let go because they prefer to run big things. Pruning reduces the portfolio, which hurts when the mindset is that bigger is always better. But not only that, when a business is sold from a weak position to someone who is in a strong position, it’s really a huge favor for everyone.

Not only should leaders know when to quit on a business, Welch encouraged them to have the self-confidence to quit their jobs if the organization was not providing enough developmental opportunities for them. Leaders owe it to themselves and it keeps the organization accountable.

Welch certainly made a lasting impression on business not just in American but all over the world. If you’d like to learn more of his ideas about leadership philosophy, managing a company, managing competition or managing your career, I suggest you pick up a copy of Winning for yourself. I’m sure glad I did!

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

It wasn’t until a recent comment by Michael Hyatt that I realized the significance this message has for leadership.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE

It’s been said that the most important attribute a new or inexperienced leader needs is confidence. Many of the people around us are committed, competent, hard-working and intelligent. But that’s not how many of them see themselves.

Where does confidence come from? In their Real Beauty Sketches campaign, Dove went to great creative lengths to communicate to their customers that they are in fact much better than they perceived themselves to be. How often do we communicate the same to those we lead?

This goes beyond simply believing the best, as powerful as that can be. We owe it to those around us to give a voice to their strengths and their potential.

So someone goes into a new project thinking, “I’m not sure that I can.” Then an experienced leader comes alongside and says, “I think you can and here’s why ________. And I’ll be there to help you.” Imagine the difference in performance outcome, growth and future potential.

The people we lead are better than they think. It’s up to us to show them – and then to walk with them.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

Right then and there I promised myself I would become a better public speaker.

Several years and many speeches later, I’ve had a blast (nearly) every time I’ve been in front of a crowd with something to say.  In fact, I’d like to sell you on joining me as a fellow public speaker by sharing six benefits of public speaking here below.

Your cause will be represented

If you take the initiative to speak, it means your ideas are the ones that will get listened to as opposed to the ones that are not being represented.  This will also make you more influential as an advocate.

It will boost your confidence

Overcoming anxiety of speaking in front of others is a huge accomplishment.  The fear of public speaking is reportedly higher than death for many people.  It’s difficult to doubt yourself when you know you can deliver speeches in public.  And believe it or not, the confidence flows over into other areas of life as well.

It will cause your ideas to stick

Hopefully your ideas will stick with your audience, but more importantly, they will stick with you.  Once you speak about a new idea, it’s amazing how you own it in a way you never did before.

You’ll get to “feel the power”

Are you a control freak?  Drama queen?  In either case, it can be a huge rush to see an audience hanging on your every word until you deliver your killer lines!

It will help build your leadership platform

When you speak, others will start to see you as an expert.  This makes them more likely to seek you out for input, follow you on your social networks, and perhaps invite – and pay – you to speak again.

You’ll have fun

All in all, public speaking is hard work, but it’s also a blast!  It can be a little scary at times, but there’s nothing like playing off the energy of an audience, experimenting with new techniques, and sharing great ideas that help others win.

So what should you do if you’d like to give public speaking a shot, but don’t know where to start?  Here’s what I did, and I guarantee each resource will make a remarkable difference for you, starting immediately:

Join a local Toastmasters club

You can search for a club on the Toastmasters website.  Depending on where you live, there could be as many as 100 clubs in your vicinity.  This is a great place to get experience in an extremely low pressure environment giving speeches that last an average of 5-7 minutes on literally any topic of your choosing.  The cost of club dues are usually very minimal, maybe $50 per six months.

Take a Dale Carnegie course

I also recommend the hundred year-old Effective Communications & Human Relations course.  Not only will you get to practice giving many short 2-4 minute speeches, you’ll also learn all the principles from my all-time favorite leadership book: Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People.  The cost of this course is usually in the $1,700 – 2,000 range, but well worth it, especially if you have access to company training funds.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.