LEAD TRUE Authentic Leadership Rediscovered 2 LEAD TRUE Authentic Leadership Rediscovered © 2018 Bill George All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or oth- erwise without the prior permission of the publisher or in accor- dance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of any license permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Why Discovering Your True North Matters 9 Digging Deeper into Authentic Leadership . 12 PART I A Human Centered Approach to Leadership Development 15 Authentic Leadership Rediscovered . 19 The Truth About Authentic Leaders . 24 You Won’t Make It If You Fake It . 30 Why Leaders Lose Their Way . 37 What Prince Harry’s Grief Over Princess Diana Can Teach Every Leader . .43 Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders . 47 PART 2 Your Journey From I to We 54 Your Journey from I to We . 56 Self Awareness: Key to Sustainable Leadership . 60 Discerning the Purpose of Your Leadership . 66 The Surprising Difference Between Careerism and Leadership . 68 What’s Your Life Goal? Success or Significance? . 73 Are Leaders Losing their Humility?. .78 4 Vulnerability is Power . 83 Overcoming the Loneliness of Leadership . 86 Mindful Leadership: Compassion, Contemplation And Meditation Develop Effective Leaders . 89 PART 3 Bringing Authentic Leadership to the Workplace 101 Are You an Empowering Leader? . 102 The New Leaders: Collaborative, Not Commanding . 107 It’s Time For Boomers To Let Millennials Start Leading The Way . 112 The Massive Difference between Negative and Positive Leadership . 116 The Vital Role of Innovation Leaders . 124 The World’s Most Innovative Company . 126 The Leadership Quality that Separates Disney’s Bob Iger From his Peers . 131 Dealing with Short-term Pressures . 138 Are Companies Succumbing to Shareholder Pressures? 141 The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism . 146 Waking Up a Sleeping Company . 153 The Tragic History of GE’s Disastrous Decline. 160 How Wells Fargo Could Have Saved Its Hard-Earned Reputation . 167 What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from Starbucks . 174 5 Ford CEO Hackett’s Decision To Dump Cars ‘May Prove Fatal’. 180 As Consumer Giants Struggle, Unilever Rises Above The Pack . 183 PART 4 Global Leadership 192 The New Global Leaders . 191 A New Era for Global Leadership Development . 204 Developing Global Leaders Is America’s Competitive Advantage . 209 Why CEOs Need to Make a Better Case for Free Trade 214 As America Recedes from Global Leadership, Its CEOs are Stepping Up . 219 Jack Ma: China’s First Global Leader . 224 PART 5 Engaging in the Public Square 233 A Strategy for Steady Leadership in an Unsteady World. 235 When Should CEOs Take Public Stands? . 239 A Courageous Leader Triggers a Moral Revolt among CEOs. 244 CEOs Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Stand Up to Trump . 249 The Working Person’s ‘Cry from The Heart’ . 255 Dangers of Stereotyping People . 260 One of the Best Ways to Become a Top Performing Company . 266 6 Obamacare’s ‘Original Sin’ is Still the Biggest Problem with US Health Care . 271 Innovation Is Key To Solving America’s Health-Care Problems . 277 America is in the Middle of a Philanthropic Revolution. 283 EPILOGUE: Serenity 289 Reflections on 50 years of Leadership 295 APPENDIX: 30 Questions to Help You Discover Your True North 302 7 YOUR TRUE NORTH – WHICH IS UNIQUE TO YOU – IS THE INTERNAL COMPASS THAT GUIDES YOU SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH LIFE. YOUR TRUE NORTH – WHICH IS UNIQUE TO YOU – IS THE INTERNAL COMPASS THAT GUIDES YOU SUCCESSFULLY THROUGH LIFE. 8 INTRODUCTION WHY DISCOVERING YOUR TRUE NORTH MATTERS Have you discovered your True North? This may be the most important task of your life. Your True North – which is unique to you – is the internal compass that guides you successfully through life, representing who you are at your deepest level. It is based on your beliefs, your most cherished values, your pas- sions and motivations, and the sources of true fulfillment in your life. For many years Stanford’s application for its Graduate School of Business had just one question: “What matters most to you in your life, and why?” This is a good place to start the process of discover- ing your True North. Then take a few minutes and write down your answer to the question, “What is my True North?” Whether you are 25 or 65, I suspect you will find this is a difficult question to answer. You may start with a superficial response that encompasses your family, your career, and your desire “to make a difference in the world.” But push beyond this. Seek an answer that goes to the core of your being – of who you are, not what you are in the world. This requires deep introspection, reflection and discern- 9 ment. It is only through such a rigorous process of self-analysis that you can discover your True North. Until you discover your True North, it is easy to feel adrift, buffeted by swirling winds going in multiple directions, and trapped in trying to adapt to the prevailing pressures in the world around you. You are unmoored, uncertain which way to turn and to whom you should listen. You strive to get ahead and strive for certain goals, and yet you lack a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. At some point you may “hit the wall,” fearful of derailing but deter- mined to work even harder, yet unable to go forward. You may feel as if you are trapped like a hamster in a cage, going round and round, faster and faster, but never advancing. You may be having a crucible experience that, as painful as it is, forces you to stop, pull back, and rethink your life. Dante opened his classic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, with these words: “In the middle of the road of my life, I awoke in a dark wood where the true way was wholly lost.” Have you ever felt this way? I know I did in my early 40’s as a Honeywell executive, working harder and harder but without any sense of purpose, fulfillment or meaning. That’s when a period of discernment led me to Medtronic’s doorstep, and opened up the best 13 years of my career. When you are prepared to pause and reassess your life, it is a sign you are ready to discover your True North. You have learned that trying to please the external forces around you is a fool’s errand because you haven’t answered these fundamental questions. Set aside some time in your life for a period of introspection, reflec- 10 tion and discernment. Consult with the people closest to you, those who know you the best, and whose support and opinion you value. From this process, which may take weeks, months or even a year or more, your True North emerges. You know what you believe, your core values are solidified, and your direction becomes clear. You now know how to Lead True. You have discovered your True North. It will guide you the rest of your life, wherever your path may take you. Note to Readers: If you have not yet read Discover Your True North, I encourage you to do so as you read the articles that follow. The book will give you a context for the views expressed in these articles and the basis for my perspective on people and issues. The easiest and least expensive way to purchase is through www.amazon.com or https://amzn.to/2ucE8Yf 11 DIGGING DEEPER INTO AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP In the fifteen years since I wrote Authentic Leadership in 2003, leader- ship practitioners and scholars have shifted their thinking about what constitutes a great leader to authentic leadership. When I wrote my first book, it never occurred to me that the notion of being authentic would create so much controversy. To me, authen- ticity – being genuine and true to yourself – was a straightforward idea that is easier to articulate than to practice. But being an authentic leader in the real world was a more complex undertaking. That’s why I defined authentic leadership as: • Understanding your purpose • Practicing solid values • Leading with heart • Establishing connected relationships • Demonstrating self-discipline This approach to leadership – which was quite new in 2003 – formed a sharp contrast with the prevailing leadership approaches at that time which centered around leadership style, charisma, and competency models. These existing theories concentrated on the leader’s external appearances, whereas authenticity focused on the leader within. Over the last fifteen years authenticity has emerged as “the gold stan- 12 dard” that business organizations are looking for in their leaders. But being authentic in business is much easier said than done, as leaders have to confront a wide array of circumstances in their dealings that may cause them to pull back from being genuine and showing their true selves to the world. It is clear that being an authentic leader is a topic that deserves much more in-depth exploration into how people lead authentically. That is the purpose of the articles that follow – to probe more deeply into the challenges that authentic leaders face in developing themselves, bringing their leadership to the workplace, leading globally, and engag- ing in important public issues. In this book I have included the best articles I have written on this subject, most of them in the last three years. They are grouped by the natural flow leaders face in developing themselves through their public challenges.