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letter

The transformational leader as pedagogue, physician, architect, commander, and saint: Five root metaphors in Jack Welch's letters to stockholders of General Electric

Joel Amernic

Joseph L.Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, amernic{at}rotman.utoronto.ca

Russell Craig

russell.craig{at}rotman.utoronto.ca

Dennis Tourish

Robert Gordon University, d.j.tourish{at}rgu.ac.uk

We analyse the corpus of CEO letters to stockholders that were signed by a widely revered business leader, Jack Welch, during his tenure as CEO of the General Electric Company [GE], 1981—2000. Our discussion is located within theory pertaining to transformational leadership. We examine Welch's language from the standpoint of how transformational leadership can be conceived as a rhetorical artefact of one-sided dialogue emanating from a powerful leader. We give particular attention to the saturation of Welch's discourse with metaphors, and argue that metaphors illuminate how transformational leadership and the accompanying construct of charisma manifest themselves in practice. Five root metaphors that heightened Welch's persuasive and rhetorical impact on his audience are identified and discussed: Welch as pedagogue , physician, architect, commander and saint . We advocate greater awareness of the rhetorical techniques employed by transformational leaders in attempts to broker compliance with their views.

Key Words: CEO discourse • General Electric • Jack Welch • leadership • letters

Human Relations, Vol. 60, No. 12, 1839-1872 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0018726707084916
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