Bill George, a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former CEO of the Medtronic Corp., has published a new book, True North Groups.
His highly regarded earlier book, True North, represents research he did with 125 successful leaders as he tried to understand their common characteristics. George’s conclusion, in a nutshell: All were different and complex in their own ways, but they all were authentic, in the sense that they were well grounded—they understood who they were and what motivated them, and they had great self-awareness about their own strengths and weaknesses. True North, he wrote, “Is the orienting point that keeps us on track as human beings and as leaders. It represents who we are at our deepest level.”
George’s new book is a guide for reaching that point through the forming of small groups, designed to give us the time “to reflect on the values and characteristics we want to define us as leaders, the difficulties we’re facing, or the long-term impact we hope to have.”
There are a variety of ways to develop such groups, whether internally within a large organization or externally with people from a variety of professions. The key is to develop a level of trust that allows you to explore your personal as well as your professional highs and lows.
George says he has been a part of his own True North group for more than 36 years. At various times it can function as a nurturer, a grounding rod, a truth teller and a mirror—at other times a challenger and inspirer. “And when people are wracked with self-doubts, it helps build their courage and ability to cope,” he writes.
