True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George, Peter E. Sims, Peter Sims (With), David Gergen (Foreword by)

True North Book Reviewby Gary51

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July 11, 2009: This book is one listed in the Warren Bennis Signature Series, and although I have yet to read its predecessor "Authentic Leadership" Warren Bennis states in his endorsement of "True North" that "True North offers a practical five-part program for developing their best selves and shows how authenticity and integrity shape great leadership. "True North" it would seem then builds on the principals set forth in "Authentic Leadership" , and reveals just how powerful authentic leadership can be - and best of all , how to achieve it..

Discovering your true north, that internal compass that guides you successfully through life, is neither an easy nor a fast thing to be accomplished, and this book teaches that doing so takes a lifetime of commitment and learning.

Bill George states "Just as a compass points toward a magnetic field, your True North pulls you toward the purpose of your leadership. When you follow your internal compass, your leadership will be authentic, and people will naturally want to associate with you. Although others may guide or influence you, your true north is derived from your life story and only you can determine what it should be."

Being in the economic crisis that we are in today the principles of this book are both timely and timeless. There is a leadership crisis that is quite evident today. George hits the nail squarely on the head and drives the point home when he appropriately states "There is a leadership crisis today and the problem rests with the wrongheaded notion of what constitutes a leader, driven by obsession with the leaders at the top. In too many organizations people don't feel empowered to lead - nor are they rewarded for doing so." Granted mentorship is talk of much in organizations, but little is actually done about it if any.

The leadership crisis of today with places like GM, Chrysler, Enron, AIG, and others, seems self evident that the leaders were frequently chosen for their charisma instead of their character, their style rather than their substance, and their image instead of their integrity. When a thing like that happens, is it any wonder that problems are coming and a crisis will soon be faced? The obvious answer is no, and yet leaders that are wrongly chosen seem blindsided by their complete lack of authenticity and integrity. In my opinion George seems to say that it is time for leadership to wake up and smell the coffee. It is said, "Leader's lose their way and lose touch with reality when they focus on external gratification instead of internal satisfaction." External gratification such as huge bonuses when the company is in financial straits instead of the internal satisfaction of doing the right thing even though it may not be comfortable would seem to come into play here.

In the world we live in, several people are putting on facades and living in a pretend world; they put on different faces and act differently where ever they are, and for whatever reason have problems with being authentic. These type of leaders have lost their way as this book explains one of the biggest reasons is they are not being true to their life's story. George says, "Successful leadership takes conscious development and requires being true to your life's story."

George is right on target. Principle based leadership is not an option, it is an essential. This should be required reading for all leaders.

Excellent treatise on ethical leadershipby Anonymous

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June 01, 2007: Considering the intangible nature of leadership, those who read about it want to know that those who write about it are properly experienced and credentialed. Bill George certainly qualifies. He is a management professor at the Harvard Business School, a member of several corporate boards, and the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, the medical technology stalwart. George, and writer Peter Sims, the founder of an investment company, interviewed 125 leaders to discover what authentic, ethical leadership is all about, what its essence is and what it requires. This book represents the fruits of their enlightened, comprehensive research efforts. We recommend it to anyone who leads others. George and Sims see leadership as a quest, not a destination. This book is an excellent starting point for your journey.