Application of General Electric’s Leadership Approach
The succession leadership approach has been used in determining the future leaders at the General Electric Company. One of the main advantages of nurturing leaders from within the company is the wealth of experience and knowledge about the institution. Leaders from outside may be experienced and knowledgeable but may fail to know the real issues affecting their current organization. That is one of the main reasons why the succession leadership is imperative. However, there is a question of whether the succession leadership can work for all the organizations. The answer to this question is dependent on a number of factors. Firstly, there is the issue of teamwork, trust, and organization culture. In the organizations that foster teamwork, it is easier to identify and nurture potential leaders. Teamwork and a good organization culture that focuses on the empowerment of the employees will allow for succession leadership (Antonakis, Avolio & Sivasubramaniam, 2003).
There is also the question of the leadership style in the given organization. The transformational leadership style will lead to identification and empowerment of the future leaders. The explanation is that transformational leaders seek to promote good relationship between employees and management, cooperation rather than competition, and to address the weaknesses of the employees through training. Additionally, transformational leaders create an environment that fosters creativity and innovation. Therefore, it is possible for the succession leadership to work for organizations provided that the mentioned factors are functional. Again, there is also a question of whether the existing leaders have the ability, the skills, and experience needed to foster growth and productivity in the same organization. If that is the case, then the succession leadership is applicable in other organizations.
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Disadvantages of Job Rotation
The General Electric has used job rotation strategy as a strategy of ensuring that future leaders are versatile and understand challenges in every department. The company ensures that the leaders move from one job to another in every two to three years. While the job rotation is important in creating effective leaders, it may also be counterproductive (Barth-Farkas, & Vera, 2014). One of the main disadvantages is that it interferes with the ability of an employee to specialize in a particular area of production. Specialized employees tend to be more productive because they do what they like and experienced. Moving from one job to the other may interfere with the ability of an employee to internalize all the skills and knowledge acquired in a particular job. For instance, there is a difference between a customer care and an accountant. The knowledge and skills in both areas of employment are different. There is tendency for employees to be slow and lacking in confidence when they move in a job that they are not familiar with. Employee productivity and job satisfaction is determined by employees’ autonomy. Employees must feel being in control of their job. If the employees fail to acquire the skill and to become competent within a reasonable time, their job satisfaction might be compromised. As a result, an organization might experience a reduction in productivity and compromised quality of goods and services. Therefore, while the job rotation should be encouraged, it is imperative to ensure that the employee adaptability in the new job is monitored. Any relevant assistance should be availed to such employees in order to make them more effective.
Reasons why General Electric’s Succession Leadership is Effective
The General Electric’s succession leadership has been very effective as far as producing the future leaders are concerned. One of the main reasons why the program has been successful has been because it is an integral part of the organization culture. Succession leadership initiative is not a new concept in GE. All the potential leaders are aware that they have a chance of leading the organization at a certain time in future. Therefore, the leaders are always prepared and seek to improve the level of their skills, knowledge, and experience. Secondly, the leaders are trained over the time before they can be allowed to hold the top managerial position in the company. Training and preparing leaders for future responsibilities ensures that they become more competent and experienced. For instance, the company ensures that employees rotate from one job to another to ensure that they are aware of what happens in every department. Another important reason is the leadership style employed in the company. The company empowers employees and fosters creativity and innovation.
In conclusion, the succession leadership is vital in fostering the continuous improvement in an organization. Leaders obtained from an organization tend to be more effective and efficient in their work because of the skills and experience they already have. The applicability of the succession leadership is dependent on availability of potential leaders in the organization, the organization culture, and the leadership style. While the job rotation is important in making leaders more versatile and obtains more knowledge about an organization, it is vital to ensure that they are supervised. Working in a new environment may interfere with the ability of employees to perform.
References
Antonakis, J., Avolio, B. & Sivasubramaniam, N. (2003). "Context and leadership: An examination of the nine-factor Full-Range Leadership Theory using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire". The Leadership Quarterly. 14 (3): 261–295.
Barth-Farkas, F. & Vera, A. (2014). "Power and Transformational Leadership in Public Organizations". International Journal of Leadership in Public Services. 10 (4): 217–232. Doi: 10.1108/ijlps-07-2014-0011
