REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP

LEADERS WHO MAKE

A DIFFERENCE

Don ’ t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them

surprise you with their results.

— George S. Patton

Introduction

This chapter addresses the question of which factors make for vanguard
companies. I start by identifying effective leadership as one of the key
points that helps create high - performance organizations, and then con-
sider the two roles leaders can have in an organization: the charismatic
and the architectural. In the architectural role the leader plays the role
of organizational designer, putting into place appropriate structures and
systems. Envisioning, empowering, and energizing are characteristics of
the charismatic role.
To illustrate these factors I examine the style of three CEOs who
have received considerable notoriety because of their huge success in
business. Richard Branson ’ s Virgin gives the opportunity to look at a
fast - growing entrepreneurial company. The case of Jack Welch of
General Electric provides an example of one of the few leaders who has
been able to transform a corporation suffering from organizational arte-
riosclerosis. Finally, I look at Percy Barnevik of ABB who took up the
challenge to create a truly global organization integrating numerous
companies and national cultures. In spite of having very different histo-
ries, these three companies have many characteristics in common and
can be viewed as a paradigm of what companies are going to look like
in the twenty - fi rst century.

CHAPTER 11