Finding True North with Bill George

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My goal is to share lessons from my “What's Next!” Podcast as well as my LinkedIn Live interviews.??

In each newsletter, I share some of the highlights from my guests to help you think differently about growth, innovation and leadership.?

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This week’s newsletter features my conversation with an inspiring leader, Bill George, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic and a Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School, where he has taught leadership since 2004.

In this conversation, Bill describes how to find and follow your true north, the path where the values of business leaders, employees, and customers are all aligned.

Here are a few of my favorite takeaways from my time with Bill:?

You’ve written several best-selling books on leadership and finding true north. Where does the idea of true north come from?

We interviewed 220 executives and learned that the single most important thing to them is their values. That’s where they find joy and satisfaction in their work. But this isn’t just for leaders, the employee experience is the same. If someone is working in a place where they feel they're going to flourish, they will grow there and create a community with the people they’re working with.?

The key as an executive or as a leader is to harness alignment between your employees’ individual purposes and those of the company. In this post-COVID era, a lot of companies have lost sight of that. That's why they're in trouble and why we’re seeing so many people are quit, because they don't feel any purpose for their work.?

How can companies get back to their original true north?

First of all, we need to understand what causes leaders to get off course. I've studied hundreds of leadership transitions, and the number one reason this happens is because we chose the wrong leader. We tell that leader, “Go in and fix the numbers,” and in the short term, they'll fix them. That's not hard to do.?

But they lose their employees along the way because they forget about the company values. That makes employees lose trust. To get back to true north, companies need to stop looking at the quarter's earnings and instead focus on how to build this company for the long term.?

Practically, this includes things like market share, customer satisfaction, new product development, and employee engagement scores, which will give you an indication of how well you’re pursuing mission and values. Leaders need to be true to that because at the end of the day, that’s what drives the company.?

What do you think the future of leadership looks like? What should people focus on?

I think Baby Boomers have had their day with 30 years on top. We need to move to authentic leadership. That's why I'm very hopeful for the new generation of Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z.?

These leaders need to become more like coaches than they do directors. They need to be inclusive leaders. It's not just about diversity but about a sense of belonging. They need to make sure everyone feels included and has a sense of belonging.

They need to know how to lead in crisis. We're dealing with multiple intersecting crises today. If you don’t have that experience, take on something that's in crisis and lead. That's how you learn to be adaptable. And finally, we need moral leaders who are true to their values and have a deep sense of purpose to make this world a better place, not just for themselves, but for everyone.?

Listen to the full interview here

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Mahalo,

Tiffani