"The purpose of this book, True North, is to enable you to discover your authentic leadership so that you can step up and lead while remaining true to who you are."- True North, page xxv
One of the things I liked about this book was that, although the discussion of leadership often took place in the context of the business world, it was clear that we all have an inner leader within us, regardless of title, position or vocation. One of the leaders interviewed for this book, Young & Rubicam CEO Ann Fudge, suggests that “the challenge is to understand ourselves well enough to discover where we can use our leadership gifts to serve others. We’re here for something. Life is about giving and living fully.”
In striving to be a leader that is genuine, that knows what they believe in and why, you need to be equipped to face the times when these qualities will be tested. It is during these trials and challenges, both personal and professional, that you will need your True North compass to guide your decision making, to be a benchmark for the choices you make in your company and your personal life. If you know it is the right thing, even in the face of adversity, you are following your internal compass.
"The reality is that no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else."- True North, page xxvi
It is important to recognize what John Donahoe, president of eBay, says: “leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint.”
It is within the discovery of what your internal compass points to, that Bill George places self-awareness on centre stage. The “Mount Everest”, if you will, of your True North compass. Realizing our strong points and our failings and what we excel at and what we get tripped up by are discovered by experience. Coming to a point of self awareness takes time and perhaps, some would suggest, is a process of self development that is never finished. We can be our own worst critic. We can be blinded by our desires.
It is when we embark on the humbling journey to understand ourselves that we will discover our authentic leadership. We no longer have to be someone else.
"The reservoir of all my life experiences shaped me as a person and a leader."- Howard Schultz, CEO and current Chairman of Starbucks
We all have a story. Some are inspiring like retired CEO of General Mills, Reatha Clark King, who grew up in the 1940s as the daughter of farm laborers. Her father left the family when she was young and money was hard to come by. King found refuge in church where many women influenced her decision to go to university. She earned her Ph.D. in physical chemistry, started teaching in the academic world and eventually became president of Metropolitan State University. Throughout her journey racial and gender prejudices were common. It is her story that makes her the leader she is. “[M]y reasons for leading were not centered on my needs, but on the needs of my people, of women, and of my community.”
Bill George advocates for us to examine our life story and leadership opportunities to this point. He offers some provoking questions to get us thinking about our story, about where we came from. For example; “During your early years, which people had the greatest impact on you?” and “Can you identify instances where you were dissatisfied with your leadership or received constructive feedback from others about it?” They are both questions that take us back to our own individual leadership story. The authors suggest that once we know our story we will know what motivates us and in turn what direction our compass will take us.
The authors encourage “us as the author of our own stories to connect the dots between our past and our future to find our inspiration to lead authentically.”
Bill George is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004. He is the author of four best-selling books 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis, True North, Finding Your True North, and Authentic Leadership. Being released in early September 2011 is his next book, True North Groups.
