5 E’s of leadership
Envision, engage, empower, enable, execute.
GE and P&G were two companies committed to the recruitment of talent, and to the development of leaders, to manage growing companies that were expanding globally and extending steadily into an increasing number of business sectors and categories.
Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt, and I were interested in identifying specific leadership behaviors and capabilities that differentiated and distinguished business leadership effectiveness and performance and business and financial results.
While we did not collaborate directly on leadership-development efforts, we did keep abreast of what one another was doing, and we built upon on our own and each other’s learning.
Jack Welch focused on three “E’s”: energy, edge, and execution. He wanted leaders who were not only energetic but also energizing with the team and organization. He deeply believed in the competitive advantage of “edge,” which he would describe as personal courage, “guts” (a word he liked), and the toughness to make the hard calls. And, of course, he wanted leaders who could execute, get the job done, deliver the expected results.
In the late 1990s, Bob McDonald (my successor), Keith Harrison (head of P&G‘s worldwide product supply organization — half of the company’s employees), and I taught a “3E” course in P&G college. Three days for middle and upper-middle managers — the directors who manage the vast majority of PG employees around the world — with one day each on P&G’s leadership behavior model: envision, empower (or energize), and enable. The three of us designed and taught the course. The first offering was the highest-rated course in P&G college history, the only one to receive a perfect 5 rating.
We stuck with it off and on over 20 years, and we ended up landing on five E’s:
Envision
Engage
Empower or energize
Enable
Execute
In the middle of a fast-changing, unpredictable, and volatile dual crisis, there is obviously no time for new training programs for managers or employees. However, based on 50 years of experience in business and nonprofits, I believe that more effective employees, supervisors, and managers with more leadership potential exhibit some, several, or occasionally all of the “5E” behaviors. Being on the lookout for these leaders, and encouraging, developing, and growing them, can make a meaningful difference in the performance of your entire organization.
Envisioning
Envisioning is describing what needs to be done now. What is the most important problem to be solved or business opportunity to be seized? What must we do next to solve or seize it? Leaders envision how an organization is going to get from its current reality to where it needs to go to be successful — from its reality today to its desired future state tomorrow.
Engaging
Engaging takes courage and guts. Whom do I need to engage with — first, second, third — to convert the vision and strategy to an action plan that can be executed? How, where, and when would it be best for me to engage?
Empowering or energizing
Empowering or energizing is all about motivation. It begins with the leader. If the leader isn’t energized, motivated, and committed, then the team and the broader organization will never sign on and commit to give it their all. Passion for and real commitment to the cause are contagious.
Enabling
Enabling is all about creating capability and confidence. The proverb applies. Give a (wo)man a fish and you feed (her) him for a day, but teach a (wo)man to fish and you feed (her) him for a lifetime. Coaching, mentoring, teaching, and training are time well spent. Much of this can be done in brief, focused, teachable moments on the job. Ninety-nine percent of my personal and professional learning has come on the job and in the real world.
Executing
Jack was right. The “rubber meets the road” when individuals and the team actually execute the action plan in the competitive marketplace. If the execution is excellent, consistent, and reliable, then the odds of successfully achieving the goal and delivering the intended results are much improved.
Those are the 5E’s of leadership behavior. It’s simple in concept, harder in execution and decisive in for-profit and nonprofit businesses.
A.G.’s perspective: Jack Welch on line one…
I first met Jack Welch when he called me one night in June 2000, during my first week in the P&G CEO job. I was working late at the office. The phone rang. My assistant Kathy answered.
— “There’s a guy on the phone who wants to talk to you…says he’s Jack Welch.”
— “Does he have a raspy voice? Like this…?”
— “Yes, he does.”
I picked up the phone.
— “Are you Al Lafley’s kid?”
— “I am.”
— “Your father was the only honest SOB at corporate when I was running plastics. Get your butt in here to see me the next time you’re in New York.”
That was the beginning of a 20-year relationship that peaked during the three years we worked side-by-side at Clayton Dubilier & Rice helping CEOs sort through their business strategies and operating plans to deliver better results.
About the author
A.G. Lafley is the former CEO of Procter and Gamble, who worked for decades in and with large public companies. Over the last 15 years, he has turned more of his attention, energy, and time to small businesses and nonprofit organizations. He currently serves on the boards of Omeza, Snapchat, Tulco, Hamilton College, and as the founding CEO of the Sarasota Bay Park Conservancy. A.G. is the author of two best-selling books, The Game Changer about innovation and Playing to Win about strategy, as well as numerous articles on leadership, management, and business strategy for Harvard Business Review.