True North and Authentic Leadership (with Bill George)

The Mark Divine Show

Mark speaks with Bill George. Bill George is executive fellow at Harvard Business School (HBS), where he has taught leadership since 2004. He is the author of: Emerging Leader Edition of True North, Discover Your True North and The Discover Your True North Fieldbook, Authentic Leadership, True North, Finding Your True North, 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis and True North Groups. He was chair and CEO of Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company. He has served as a director of Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, Novartis, Target, the Mayo Clinic, and World Economic Forum USA. He has been named one of the Top 25 Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years by PBS, Executive of the Year by Academy of Management, and Director of the Year by National Association of Corporate Directors.

Key Takeaways:

• True North Leadership: True North Leadership is about leaders understanding that it is important to have meaning in what they choose to do as a profession. Leader’s are encouraged to travel a path of self discovery and knowing your authentic self.

• It’s Alright to Disagree: Know your beliefs and values. It is alright and helps us evolve when we respectfully can discuss our different opinions and views on complex topics.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: DEI has to be more about statistics and checklist for a company. People need to know they belong and are valued. They also need to feel included in the conversations and heard. This takes leaders to get out of their offices and into the field with employees.

• Get Outside of Your Culture: When you travel and work outside your home country you become the minority. This allows you to examine yourself from new perspectives that teaches you about communication, values, and relationships.