Summary Of True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership

The Book True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George was a compilation of tidbits, pieces of advice, and interviews with famous leaders. These leaders were gathered from all over the place, massive corporations, politics, NPO’s, leaders in education, medicine, and many more areas. A majority of the leaders mentioned a turning point in their life, a traumatic event that occurred, or a difficult situation, something that showed them their real purpose, their True North. Obviously they didn’t all of a sudden become the successful leaders they are today, but this event or situation they experienced set them on a path of transition into who they are today. Bill George refers to this transition as going from “I to We”, recognizing that leadership is not about the “I” of gaining followers, but instead about the “We” of a larger more important group movement.
Bill talks about the Leadership Crisis we are experiencing in our country today. According to Gallop polling, less than 25% of people would say they trust our business
The leaders did not identify any specific leadership character traits, or skills that lead them to their current positions. They believed that by constantly challenging themselves, and looking back at their life stories, they uncovered their real purpose for leadership. When looking back at their lives, they realized that leadership was not about success or the various perks that come with success, but rather about elevating other people and empowering them to lead. All people could be generalized as either leaders or followers, but there are also two types of leaders, those who lead to serve themselves, and those who lead to serve others. Leaders who lead to serve themselves, never find their true north, and never make the transition from “I” to “We”. Therefore they rarely gain the respect and trust of their