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Episode 10: Jeannie Coyle on Lou Gerstner, AmEx, and Developing Leaders through Experience [The Amiel Show]

Episode 10: Jeannie Coyle on Lou Gerstner, AmEx, and Developing Leaders through Experience [The Amiel Show]

by amiel · Feb 17, 2015

What happens when CEOs of large organizations make leadership development a central part of their business strategy? What becomes possible when they personally spearhead this pivotal work rather than delegating it to HR or ignoring it entirely?

In episode 10 of The Amiel Show, talent strategist Jeannie Coyle and I talk about her experience at American Express in the early 1980s, helping Lou Gerstner (who later “saved IBM”) build a powerful pipeline for developing leaders internally. We discuss:

  • The unusual approach that Americal Express took of developing leaders through focused experiences rather than training and complex tools
  • Jeannie’s big risk that paid off: giving Gerstner a one-page summary of high potential leaders instead of the customary big binders
  • How Gerstner created a new culture involving honest, transparent conversations that had never happened before
  • How Gerstner took personal responsibility for developing leaders at the company
  • What it was like to be a woman in leadership at American Express in the early 1980s

Jeannie-Coyle

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Tweet a Quote

Gerstner knew he was not perfect. He was more interested in hearing about his downsides.

–Jeannie Coyle    Tweet this quote

Explore Additional Resources

WorkIntelligence, Jeannie Coyle’s consulting and coaching business

Make Talent Your Business: How Exceptional Managers Develop People While Getting Results by Jeannie Coyle and Wendy Axelrod

Lou Gerstner, “the man who saved IBM”

One Page Talent Management by Mark Effron

Ram Charan’s article “It’s Time to Split HR” in Harvard Business Review

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Filed Under: Bosses, Leadership development, Learning from experience, Podcast, Women's leadership Tagged With: boss, development, Leadership, learning from experience, women's leadership

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