Unlocked Leadership Excellence: The Transformative Journey I had at Crotonville
Jack Welch was a leadership phenom. He loved people as much as process. It was a balance I’ve never witnessed since.
Last week, his leadership “university” was sold as one of the last markers of the GE divestment.
I was lucky enough to be at Crotonville several times early in my career. Located near Croton on the Hudson, NY, Crotonville was good stress- a part of life recent grads loved as we lived in group projects and courses. Filmed facilitating and presenting I watched replays of myself with the ability to fail. Practice was the only thing on the agenda.
Welch’s culture was pervasive in the office and on the property. Jack would land and everyone would run up to see the helipad just for a sighting, Like my daughters’ racing to see the first snow outside of the wintery classroom windows, seeing GE's own celebrity brought an energy throughout the adults in the throws of unwinding a case study.
Now, decades later, Crotonville is no longer owned by GE, a hospitality group is renting it out as a conference center. My hope is it’s original purpose of adult leadership practice remains. Previously training was focused on medicine or manufacturing.
Attending several Crotonville events sparked my passion for adult learning, leadership and management training.
GE went the extra mile with little touches that made a huge difference, including the most delicious ice cream bars that we could get it any hours as we worked through our studies. I thought that subsequently in early merger integration that I was living the MBA case studies. Being forced out of my comfort zone on team projects continued my career as I felt supported and hurt. I was allowed to fail. I was allowed to Try things trolls try presenting trying to pitch.
Forging your own way through feedback, growth and career trajectory can feel lonely without your own Crotonville.
Here are my favorite places to keep learning:
ASK: Make a request to attend training or a conference in your field. It shows initiative and there is often money
TAKE CONTROL: Leverage anything from Teachable, Coursera or other certifications to keep getting new ideas. This training can be job adjacent, like the current AI trend. There are free resources.
Watch Playback of you at your Job. Gather feedback, understand your weaknesses, and watch tape of yourself presenting, facilitating, reading your own work. Filming us at Crotonville and at GE all the time
