You have been the wind beneath my wings, GE !

Coming week would be my last at GE. Before the nostalgia hits the climax and I can't see what am I writing - I wanted to pen down these amazing things I got to learn during my journey at GE. These things have had a huge impact on me as a professional & as a leader. Here are some stories & key takeaways which will stay with me forever......

You own it...!

During my 1st role at GE, after finishing negotiations with a supplier, I went running to my leaders to get their signatures on contract. Post vetting the needful - my 1 over 1 leader asked me to sign the contract. I was surprised being new as well as pretty low in hierarchy that I was being asked to sign. He said, "You own it, you negotiated it, you sign it." My joy knew no bounds as for a sourcing professional, there is no better feeling than signing contract that you negotiated yourself. That was my first major lesson - I owned it - end to end. It made me more accountable right from the get go.

It's your painting. Don't ask me how to paint it.... !

A week after taking a larger leadership role, I went to meet (& impress) my new Boss to run a strategy by him to get his thoughts. He literally asked me to walk out of his office....I was stunned and confused until he said "Akshar, I gave you this job because I trust you. Don't have to run these things by me unless you absolutely need to." That's when I realized that I was way more empowered than what I had assumed. It kept increasing my belief in empowerment and I never stopped empowering my teams thereafter.

You have a problem? Okay....so what's the solution...?

I was never spoon fed in GE. If I had an issue then I had to get over it / face it & think of solutions myself. You are always welcome to consult it with peers & leaders who will be willing to brainstorm and advise but they will never solve it for you. This pushed me & my teams to figure things out. This approach makes you believe in Howard Putnam's famous quote - "Turbulence is inevitable, misery is optional". My teams & I learned never to play a victim and how to figure things out.

Let me tell you something.....

GE Culture & the candor it drives kept me on my toes, always. I was frequently told what I should 'continue' and what I should 'consider' by everyone who cared - which was almost everybody. This kept my teams & I in check with the reality. This gave us clarity on what we are good at and what we should be improving upon. As a leader, it also resulted in a habit of frequently communicating with the team & providing timely feedback (formal/informal) as I believed in the GE notion of not surprising anyone at their year end review by being candid; always.

Skills Matter BUT Attitude Matters More !

My first leadership role in GE came 8 months after I joined as an individual contributor. I was a bit surprised when I was asked to apply knowing my skills were yet to be fully developed &/or recognized being new to GE. But I was told that I had the right attitude which I should leverage while focusing on enhancing my skills. I was still a doubtful starter but got a hang of it shortly and eventually started loving it as I got handle on the skill part too. I believe firmly that right attitude has more weight than skills (which could be taught) when you are recruiting &/or promoting. Since someone took a chance on me - it became my habit too. I started hunting talent which has the right attitude even though they might or might not possess the skill set at the beginning. I am fortunate that all such selected talent is reaching newer heights within the company.

If I am not the smartest guy in the room...then....how best can I serve....?

At GE you will run across amazingly talented people who will always be a step or two ahead of you. I soon realized differentiating myself on I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) would be a tough ask. That made me focus more on my E.Q. (Emotional Intelligence) and I started being the guy who can get these smart & talented minds to work cohesively towards a larger business need. As a leader, I found success with that theory. First being a competitive person - I had to learn to be okay not being the smartest guy in the room (it is pretty peaceful actually once you come to terms with it...even though I kept motivating myself to be at least the 3rd or 4th or 5th smartest). Second, I started taking a lot of pride in surrounding myself with talented folks who I then can take on company's missions. GE helped me find my niche and I have formed a strong belief that everyone on the team has a role to play and the true skill of a leader lies in unlocking everyone's true potential and channeling it towards to business need.

(My Leadership Style - Please check out !)

Knowing the Audience....

Pitching to one of the company officers was not an easy task. He has memory like a dolphin and has a knack of catching any & every mistake in your deck/s. No preparation is enough and more details the better. I learnt to think of all the angles and corners in everything my team or I did or pitched. It made our strategy & execution holistic and thorough. The happiness of walking out unscratched from his meetings could easily be compared with winning an Oscar.

On other hand, while pitching to my CEO in an hour long meeting, my team & I went in with a 52 page deck staying consistent with above style. She liked that the deck was thorough and we were well prepared but she said no more than 5 pages next time. When we finally delivered a 5 page deck (3 months later after her pushing us every review) - she lauded our effort and said - how about a 3 page deck next time... :)

This made me more aware of my audience; when to go deep & when to stay high. As a leader, it is 'my' job to ensure the story of my team, their efforts, their needs gets out and keeping that in mind I am working this skill everyday.

Together - we stand !

My teams differentiated my journey with GE the most. I was asked to take on bigger challenges frequently and that gave me exposure to various styles of talent, attitudes & skill sets. Drawing inspiration from their individual brilliance; I could build a culture where the team members started complimenting each other, constructive conflict started getting positive connotation, brand got defined and team focused on enhancing & maintaining it. We achieved many milestones that I did not even dream about as a leader. My teams truly expanded my vision and aspirations. They always had my back no matter how crazy of a challenge we were signing up for business needs. Together we stood - in good times but especially in tough times. Leading my teams, going on challenging voyages with them & collectively reaching newer heights has been the biggest honor of my GE journey.

Thank you GE !

I have been & will always be proud of the GE Brand, GE Values, GE Culture, GE Products and GE People.

I would not be the same professional as I am today if it was not for this amazing company, my sponsors, leaders, mentors, peers, friends, my teams and mentees that I had the fortune to work with over last 8 years.

You truly have been the wind beneath my wings, GE. And for that, I will forever be grateful.

Akshar Awalgaonkar.