Jeff Immelt’s article “How to Differentiate Great Leaders from Good Leaders” is an insightful article about how to distinguish great leaders from good leaders at the top of an organization. He uses GE’s retired senior leader, Dennis Dammerman, as a great example of an executive who embodies the key attributes of successful and respected leaders. In summary, the 5 attributes of a great leader that Immelt emphasizes are 1) self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses, 2) commitment to the organization and being a driver of change, 3) building a “WE” organization, 4) knowing how to simplify, and 5) having passion and a vision for the organization and where it’s headed. If you closely examine your organization, hopefully you will find that there are leaders who embody these attributes not only at the top of the organizational structure, but throughout all levels of the company. For example, a superstar employee at any level can be a driver of change within their team and can significantly contribute to building a “WE” organization. Often times they also have great ideas on how to simplify things because they are closer to the ground level and know how things really operate.

Great leaders are not made by a title or their position within the company. Leaders are revealed by their actions and attitudes. In the most successful organizations there are great leaders scattered throughout every department, at every level. Just make sure you recognize them, because they may not be as obvious as the executive leaders, but having them might just be the key to an organization’s success.

The Culture Counts blog is a discussion of law firm culture and legal innovation, including topics such as effective leadership, employee engagement, workplace culture, ideal work environment, company core values, and workplace productivity.  

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