IBM's Ginni Rometty: portrait of a leader learning to use “Good Power”

Purpose This masterclass examines former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty's personal memoir of her life and career as a study of authentic leadership in action, and her concept of “good power” through which she distills the major insights on leadership she gleaned along the way. Design/methodology/approach This masterclass examines the insights from a former IBM CEO's “memoir with purpose” as an example of the classic perspective on authentic leadership developed in the “True North” series of studies by Harvard's Bill George and his research associates over two decades. Findings Ginni Rometty's “good power” concept and principles, as developed in her “memoir with purpose,” represent a practical guide for aspiring leaders seeking to become a positive force for change, and they make a valuable addition to the literature on authentic leadership. Research limitations/implications Her “good power” concept and experience-based principles, as developed in her “memoir with purpose” make a valuable addition to the literature on authentic leadership. Practical implications Her “good power” concept and principles, as developed in her “memoir with purpose,” represent a practical guide for aspiring leaders seeking to become a positive force for change. Social implications Her memoir, with its conception of “good power,” strongly encourages corporate leaders to adopt a “stakeholder perspective” and become more active and outspoken, forces for positive change in the wider societies within which they operate. Originality/value Reflective memoirs as analytical as this one, from someone who has led at the highest level in the business world, are still rare in the genre.