Discover Your True North. George Bill
them faced trials, some of them severe. Many cited these experiences, along with the people who helped them develop, as primary reasons for their success. Without exception, these leaders believed being authentic made them more effective and successful.
As the result of our research into these leaders, we have a clearer understanding of what constitutes an effective and authentic leader. We know that each leader is unique, just as each human being is. The reality is that no one can be authentic by trying to be like someone else. You can learn from others' experiences, but you cannot be successful trying to be like them. People will only trust you when you are genuine and authentic.
If you create a false persona or wear a mask, people will quickly see through you. As Reatha Clark King, chair of the National Association of Corporate Directors, said:
If you're aiming to be like somebody else, you're being a copycat because you think that's what people want you to do. You'll never be a star with that kind of thinking. But you might be a star – unreplicable – by following your passion.
Amgen chairman and CEO Kevin Sharer, who gained priceless experience at the beginning of his career by working as Jack Welch's assistant, saw the downside of General Electric's cult of personality in those days. “Everyone wanted to be like Jack,” he explained. “Leadership has many voices. You need to be who you are, not try to emulate somebody else.”
What has caused this dramatic change in today's leaders?
As CEO of Medtronic in the 1990s, I witnessed firsthand many corporations choose the wrong people as CEO. Under pressure from Wall Street to maximize short-term earnings, boards of directors frequently selected leaders for their image, style, and charisma rather than their substance and character. Many of these leaders put their companies at risk by focusing on the trappings and spoils of leadership instead of building their organizations for the long term. When those who failed walked away with enormous financial settlements, confidence in business leaders further eroded.
These stock market pressures boomeranged in the fall of 2008 when many financial institutions became insolvent, forcing the U.S. government to intervene to save the economic system from complete collapse. In the deep recession that followed, millions of Americans depleted their savings and unemployment rose above 10 percent. The root cause of this crisis was not financial instruments, such as subprime mortgages, but failed leaders, just as it was in the early 2000s.
As a result, public trust in business leaders fell to its lowest level in 50 years. In business, trust is the coin of the realm. The success of any organization depends upon customers' trust in the products they buy, employees' trust in their leaders, investors' trust in those who steward their funds, and public trust in capitalism as a fair and equitable means of creating wealth for all. More than seven years after the global financial crisis, the public still has low trust in business leaders.
The positive side of these crises is the high quality of leaders who have emerged in the new generation and how well they have learned the lessons of these debacles. These leaders lived through the corporate governance debacle of 2003, when Enron and WorldCom went bankrupt, and survived the global financial collapse of 2008.
From these negative experiences when many leaders went awry, today's leaders learned what not to do. They saw many of their predecessors get caught in the trap of chasing money, fame, and power, and lose sight of their True North. They learned the perils of putting self-interest ahead of the institutions they were chosen to lead. Most important, they learned that being authentic is the most effective and sustainable way to lead.
As we will see through their stories, today's leaders have discovered their True North and are pursuing it to the best of their abilities. And yet, leading an organization today is much more difficult than when I was CEO. Today's leaders have to cope with vastly increased pressures for short-term results and far greater legal and regulatory compliance, all of which can pull them off the course of their True North.
In reading Discover Your True North, you may wonder why we focus so much on your life story and on developing yourself, as opposed to leading others. As we have learned from working with many leaders, the hardest person you will ever have to lead is yourself. Once you are fully comfortable with who you are – and feel good in your own skin – leading others authentically becomes much easier.
Authentic leaders who follow their True North have learned from their crucibles and setbacks. They have the resilience to resist pressures and seductions. They know they must be authentic to gain legitimacy with those with whom they work and the multiple stakeholders who have vested interests in their organizations. They are committed to building sustainable value for their institutions, while producing near-term results.
The fact that business today is far more global than it was a decade ago has significant implications for leadership throughout the world. As World Economic Forum USA chair Jean-Pierre Rosso reflected, “Today's leaders are more global, more open, and more concerned about societal issues than their predecessors.”
The new generation of leaders introduced here are much more diverse than their predecessors, more global in their outlook and national origin, and more likely to be promoted from within. Many more women, people of color, and leaders who live and work outside their country of origin are among today's authentic leaders. They have global visions and a desire to make lasting contributions. As a result, authentic global leaders who understand today's global business world are rising to the top of organizations around the world.
As Fortune's Manager of the Century, Jack Welch has long been thought of as the prototypical leader of the twentieth century. Unilever's Paul Polman is emerging as such a leader in this new century. Figure I.1 shows some of the ways this generation of leaders differs from its predecessors.
Figure I.1 Differences in Twentieth-Century and Twenty-First-Century Leaders
What is an authentic leader? Authentic leaders have discovered their True North, align people around a shared purpose and values, and empower them to lead authentically to create value for all stakeholders.
Authentic leaders are true to themselves and to what they believe in. They engender trust and develop genuine connections with others. Because people trust them, authentic leaders are able to motivate them to achieve high levels of performance. Rather than letting the expectations of others guide them, they are their own persons and go their own ways. As servant leaders, they are more concerned about serving people than about their own success or recognition.
This is not to say that authentic leaders are perfect. Far from it. All leaders have weaknesses and are subject to human frailties and mistakes. Yet by acknowledging their shortcomings and admitting their errors, their humanity and vulnerability come through, and they are able to connect with people and inspire them.
Discover Your True North is written for anyone who wants to be an authentic leader and discover his or her True North. It is for leaders at all stages of their lives, from students aspiring to lead to those at the top of organizations. You are never too young, or too old, to take on leadership challenges and lead authentically. Discover Your True North is grounded in the hundreds of years of experience of the authentic leaders we interviewed as well as my own 50 years in leadership roles. For you, the reader, it is an opportunity to learn from authentic leaders and to create your own development plan to become an authentic leader.
The bottom line is this: You can discover your True North right now.
• You do not have to be born with the characteristics or traits of a leader.
• You do not have to be at the top of an organization.
• You can step up and lead at any point in your life.
As CEO of Young & Rubicam Ann Fudge said:
All of us have the spark of leadership in us, whether it is in business, government, or as a nonprofit volunteer. 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