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DiscoverYour Authentic Leadership

TRUE NORTHTHE SUMMARY IN BRIEF

According to WarrenBennis,astheworld becomes moredangerousandour problemsbecomemorecomplex and dire, we long for truly distinguishedleaders,menand women who deserve our respect and loyalty. TrueNorth isabout this kind of leader.

TrueNorth is theinternal compassthat guides you successfully throughlife. It representswho you areas a human being at your deepest level andisbased on what is most importantto you.

Author Bil l Georgeshows how anyonewho follows his or her internalcompass can becomean authentic leader. This leadershipexamination is basedon research andfirst-personinterviewswith 125of today’s top leaders–– withsomesurprising results.

Theleadersinterviewedfor TrueNorth rangedin agefrom 23 to 93 andwerechosen basedon their reputationsfor being authentic and successful. Theymakeup a diversegroupof women and men from an array of racial, religiousand socioeconomicbackgroundsand nationali ties. Amongthem are HowardSchultzof Starbucks, Andrea Jungof Avon and Chuck Schwab, founderofCharlesSchwab & Co.Half of thegroupare CEOs,and theother half includesa broadrangeof nonprofit leaders juststarting on their journey.

Discovering your TrueNorth takes a lifetimeof commitment and learning.But as longas you aretrueto who you are, you can copewith themostdiffi -cult circumstancesthat life presents. When you are alignedwith who you are,you find coherencebetween your life storyand your leadership. Can you recallthetime whenyou felt mostintensely alive and could say with confidence,“This is thereal me”?When you can,you are aligned with your True Northandarepreparedto leadothers authentically.

INTHIS SUMMARY,YOUWILL LEARN:

• Thefive dimensionsthat make up anauthentic leader.

• How to identify thefive types of leaders who havederailed.

• How to build your supportteam.

• How to empower peopleto lead.

• How to optimizeyour leadershipeffectiveness.

• How to link your leadership style with your senseof power.

Concen trated Know ledge™ for the Busy Execut ive • www.sum mary.com Vol. 29, No. 8 (2 parts ), Part 2, August 2007 • Order # 29-20

CONTENTSLearning FromAuthentic LeadersPage 2

The Journey toAuthentic LeadershipPages 2, 3

Why Leaders LoseTheir WayPage 3

Knowing Your Authentic SelfPage 4

What Motivates You toBe a Leader?Page 5

Leadership With Purposeand PassionPages 6, 7

Empowering People to LeadPage 7

Honing Your LeadershipEffectivenessPages 7, 8

by Bil l Georgewith PeterSims

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LearningFromAuthenticLeadersIt is understandable why academic studies have not

produceda profile of anideal leader. Leaders are highlycomplex human beings,peoplewho have distinctivequalitiesthatcannotbesufficiently describedby lists oftraits or characteristics.

Authentic leaders not only inspire thosearoundthem,theyempower people to stepup and lead.Thus,thereisa newdefinition of leadership: Theauthentic leaderbringspeopletogether arounda sharedpurposeandempowersthemto stepupandleadauthentically inorder to createvaluefor all stakeholders.

There are five dimensionsthatmake up anauthenticleader:

• Pursuing purposewith passion. Withouta realsenseof purpose, leadersareat themercy of their egosandnarcissistic vulnerabili ties.

• Practicing solid values.Leadersaredefinedbytheir values,andvaluesarepersonal— theycannotbedetermined by anyoneelse.

• Leading with heart.Authentic leaderslead withtheir heartsaswell astheir heads.

• Establishing endurin g relationships.Theability todevelopenduringrelationships is an essential markofauthentic leaders.

• Demonstrating self-discipline.Authentic leadersknow competingsuccessfully takesa consistently highlevel of self-discipline in orderto produce results.

There are two key stepsto becomingan authenticleader.First, you haveto understand yourself, becausetheperson you will alwaysfind hardest to leadis your-self. Second,you musttakeresponsibility for your owndevelopment.You mustdevote yourself to a li fetimeofdevelopment in orderto becomea great leader. ■

The Journey toAuthenticLeadership

Authentic leaders consistently say theyfind theirmotivation throughunderstanding their own stories.Whatmakesleaders’storiesdifferent from everyone

else’s? Many people with painful stories seethemselvesas victims, feeling theworld hasdealt them a badhand.Or theylack theintrospection to see theconnectionbetween their li fe experiences and thegoals theyarepursuing.Thedifference with authentic leaders lies intheway they frametheir stories.Their life storiespro-videthecontextfor their lives.

Many learn thehard way that leadership is not a sim-ple destination of becoming CEO. Rather, it is amarathonjourneythatprogresses throughmanystagesuntil you reach your peak leadership.Of all the leadersover 40 who were interviewed, nonewoundup wheretheythoughttheywould.Phase I: Preparing for Leadership. Thefi rst 30

years is thetimeto prepare for leadership, whencharac-ter is formed and people become individual contributorsor lead teams for thefi rst time.Phase II : Leading. Thesecondphase of your leader-

ship journeybeginswith a rapid accumulation of leader-ship experiences and culminates in the50s,whenlead-ers typically reach their peak leadership.Phase II I : Giving Back.Many leaders are bypassing

retirement to share their experience with multiple orga-nizations.Theyserve on for-profit or nonprofit boards,

THE COMPLETE SUMMARY: TRUE NORTHby Bill George with Peter Sims

Publishedby SoundviewExecutiveBook Summaries (ISSN 0747-2196),P.O.Box 1053,Concordville,PA19331 USA, a division of ConcentratedKnowledgeCorp. Publishedmonthly.Subscriptions:$209peryearin theUnited States,CanadaandMexico,and$295to all othercountries.Periodicalspostagepaidat Concordville,Pa.,andadditional offices.

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CHRIS BACHLER – CONTRIBUTING EDITORATHENA NICOLAIDES – GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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For additional information on the authors,go to: http://my.summary.com

The authors: Bill Georgeisprofessor of managementpracticeat theHarvard BusinessSchoolandformerchair-manandCEOof Medtronic. He is theauthorof thebest-sellingAuthentic Leadership andisaboard memberofGoldman Sachs, Target andNovartis.

Peter Simsestablished“Leadership Perspectives,” acourseon leadership developmentat theStanfordGraduateSchoolof BusinesswhileearninghisMBA. HealsohelpedfoundtheLondonofficeof Summit Partners.TrueNorth by Bill Georgewith PeterSims.Copyright

© 2007by Bill George.Summarizedby permissionof thepublisher,Jossey-Bass, animprint of JohnWiley & SonsInc.251pages.$27.95.ISBN 0-7879-87514.

Summary copyright© 2007by SoundviewExecutiveBookSummaries,www.summary.com, 1-800-SUMMARY,1-610-558-9495.

(continuedon page3)

mentoryoungleaders,takeup teaching or coach newlyappointedCEOs.

Lord John Browne,who led BP to newheightsin his11 yearsat thehelm,supportstheidea of giving back.In announcinghewould stepdown as CEO,Brownesaid,“ I don’t believe in retirement. Theideaseemsatouch out of date.” He suggested hewould belookingfor an interestingnewposition with a purpose. ■

Why LeadersLoseTheir WayWhy do people with excellent potential getderailed

just astheyappearto behitting thepeak of their leader-ship? People who losetheir way are not necessarily badleaders.They havethepotential to becomegood leaders,but somewherealongtheway theyget pulledoff course.

Beforepeopletakeon leadership roles, theyshouldfirst ask themselves two fundamental questions:“Whatmotivatesme to lead?”and“What is thepurpose of myleadership?” If honestanswersto thefirst questionare

simply power, prestige and money, leaders risk beingtrapped by external gratif ication as thesourceof theirfulfi llment. There is nothing wrongwith desiring theseoutward symbolsas long as theyare combinedwith adeeper desire to serve something greater than oneself.

While many leaders havea deep-seated fear of failure,theirony is that theylearn themost from their failures.Some rising leaders havesucha fear of faili ng that theyavoid risks.Whentheyreach thetop, theyare not pre-pared to copewith thegreater challenges they face.

Derailment: LosingSight ofYour TrueNorthIn observing leaders who havederailed, five types

who lose sightof their TrueNorth havebeen identified.Impostors risethroughtheorganizational rankswith

a combination of cunning and aggression.Theyunder-stand thepolitics of getting ahead andlet no onestandin their way. Theyhavelittle appetite for self-reflectionor for developing self-awareness.

To peopleoutsidetheir organizations,Rationalizersalways appear on top of theissues.Whenthingsdon’tgo their way, theyblame external forcesor subordinatesor offer facile answers to their problems. Theyrarelystep up and take responsibility themselves.Glory Seekersdefine themselves by acclaim of the

external world. Money,fame, glory andpower aretheirgoals as theypursuevisible signsof success.Oftenitseems moreimportant to them to appear on lists of themostpowerful businessleadersthan it does to buildorganizationsof lasting value.Loners avoid forming closerelationships,seeking out

mentorsor creating support networks. They believe theycan and must make it on their own. Not to be confusedwith introverts, loners often have a myriad of superficialrelationshipsand acolytes, but they do not listento them.

The livesof Shooting Stars centerentirelyon theircareers.To observers, they areperpetualmotion machines,alwayson thego, traveling incessantly to getahead.Theyrarely make time for family, friends, communitiesor eventhemselves. As they run ever faster, their stressmounts.Theymoveupsorapidly in their careers that theyneverhave time to learn fromtheirmistakes. ■

Transformation From ‘I’ to ‘We’To becomeauthentic leaders, wemust discard themyth

thatleadership meanshaving legionsof supportersfollow-ingour direction asweascendto thepinnaclesof power.Only then canwerealizethatauthenticleadership isaboutempoweringotherson their journeys.

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Summary: TRUE NORTHThe Journey toAuthentic Leadership(continued frompage2)

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TheAuthentic Leadership Compass

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This shift is the transformation from “I” to “We.” It is themost important processleadersgo throughin becomingauthentic. How elsecantheyunleash thepowerof theirorganizationsexceptby motivatingpeople to reachtheirfull potential?Only whenleadersstop focusingontheirpersonal ego needsaretheyableto developother leaders.

Jaime Ir ick on TransformingJaime Irick, aWest Pointgraduateand rising starat

General Electric,offeredinsight into theprocessoftransforming from “I” to “We.” “You haveto realize thatit’s not aboutyou,” heexplained.

“We spend our early yearstrying to bethebest.To getinto West Point or GeneralElectric, you haveto bethebest.That is defined by whatyou can do on your own–– your ability to bea phenomenal analyst or do wellon a standardizedtest.Whenyou becomea leader, yourchallengeis to inspireothers,develop themandcreatechangethroughthem. If you want to bea leader, you’vegot to fl ip that switch andunderstandthat it’s aboutservingfolks on your team.This is a very simplecon-cept,but onemanypeople overlook. Thesooner theyrealize it, thefastertheywil l becomeleaders.” ■

Knowing Your Authentic SelfIn their interviews, leaderssaid thatgainingself-

awareness wascentralto becoming authenticleaders.For this reasonit is at thecenter of your compass.Whenyou know yourself, you can find thepassionthatmoti-vatesyou andthepurposeof your leadership.

Your Emotional IntelligenceSelf-awarenessis thefirstelementof emotionalintelli-

gence, or EQ.While intellectualintelligence,or IQ, haslong been thought of asanessential characteristicfor man-agers,EQ maybemoreimportantfor authenticleaders.Leaderswith anexceptionallyhigh IQ gettoo intellectuallyinvolved andhavetroublebeingtolerant of others.Youhaveto haveacertain levelof intelligenceat thetop.Abovethat level, youneedleadership skills, interpersonalskillsand teamwork.

Dirk Jager, theformerCEOof Procter & Gamble, isanexample of a failed leader becauseheimposedhisintellecton others.Jager wasa brilliant strategistwhohadexcellent ideasaboutthestrategicandculturalchangesneededat P&G, but his stylewassoabrasivethat hethreatenedtheessenceof P&G’s culture.As aresult, his management teamrebelled, and theboardasked him to stepdownin lessthantwo yearsasA.G.

Lafley, a longtime P&G executive, took his place.Usinga combination of wisdom, humili ty and personal engage-ment with employees,Lafley is transforming P&G intooneof thegreat success stories of the 21stcentury.

WhyKnowingYourself Is SoImportantThebetter you know yourself, themorelikely you are

to choose theright role.When leaders know themselveswell, theybecomecomfortable in their own skins,actconsistently in differentsituationsand gain thetrustofothers. Most leaders see theprocessof gaining self-awarenessas crucial to their ability to build strongrela-tionships. Those who are comfortable with themselvestendto be moreopenand transparent. Leaders whoknow their strengthsand weaknesses can fil l their skillgapswith colleagues who complement them.

BecomingSelf-AwareWithoutself-awareness, it is easy to get caught up in

chasing external symbols of success rather thanbecom-ing theperson you want to be. It is difficult to regulateyour emotions, control your fears and avoid impulsiveoutbursts whenyou feelthreatenedor rejected. Withoutbeing aware of your vulnerabilities, fearsand longings, itis hard to empathizewith others who are experiencingsimilar feelings.

Oneof themostdifficult thingsin becoming self-aware is seeing ourselves as others seeus.Al thoughitcan bediffi cult to hear, leaders need accurate feedbackto identify their blind spots.Whenyou can do thatandbeopen to newways of doingthings,thechangeyoucan accomplish is almost unlimited.

AcceptingYourselfSelf-awareness is only half thechallenge. You still

haveto acceptyourself. But with self-awareness,accepting your authentic self becomes much easier. Yousee yourself clearly andaccurately, andyou know whatyou truly believe. Thekey to self-acceptance is to loveyourself unconditionally. This level of self-compassionenablesyou to get to thesourceof your TrueNorth andto accept yourself as you are. ■

Practicing Your ValuesandPrinciples

In gaining a clear awareness of who you are, youmustunderstand your values and theprinciplesthat

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For additional information on self-awareness,go to: http://my.summary.com

Transformation From ‘I ’ to ‘We’(continued frompage3)

guideyour leadership. Stayingcentered on your valuesis not easy.You caneasilydrift off courseasthetempta-tionsandpressures of theoutsideworld pull you away.But if you arecenteredby a high level of self-aware-ness, your compasscanhelp you get back on track.

Values,Leadership PrinciplesandEthical Boundaries

Thevaluesthat form thebasis for your TrueNorth arederived from your beliefsandconvictions.In definingyour values,you mustdecidewhat is mostimportant inyour life. When you havea clear understanding of yourvaluesandtheir relative importance,you canestablishtheprinciplesby which you intendto lead.Leadershipprinciplesare valuestranslatedinto action.

Your ethical boundariessetclear limits on what youwill do when you aretemptedor are under pressureorwhenyou startrationalizing a seriesof marginal deci-sions. Oneway leadersunderstandtheir ethical bound-ariesis to usetheNewYorkTimes test. Beforeproceed-ing with any action, askyourself, “How would I feel ifthis entire situation, including transcriptsof discussions,wereprintedon thefi rst pageof theNewYorkTimes?”If your answersarenegative,thenit is time to rethinkyour actions; if they arepositive, you shouldfeel com-fortable proceeding. ■

What Mot ivatesYou toBea Leader?

Chuck Schwab’s strengths,talentsandmotivationsallcametogether whenhefoundedCharlesSchwab& Co. Hecombinedhis investmentresearchskills with thepersistenceandresilience learned from yearsof suffering with dyslexiaandanupbringingthat instil ledanenormousrespectforindividuals who wantto achievefinancial independence.

Building a company with a causein which hepassion-atelybelieves, hehashelped millions becomemorecon-fident while achieving financial independencehimself.Schwab’scompanyis anAmerican icon, with 14,000employeesandmarketcapitalization of $20billion.

Like Chuck Schwab,you needto know what moti-vatesyou andhave a realistic understandingof yourstrengthsandweaknessessoyou canput your bestcapabilities to work.

Intrinsic andExtrinsicMotivationsThere aretwo types of motivation — extrinsic and

intrinsic.Extrinsic motivations, suchasgetting good

grades,winning athletic competitionsor making money,are measured by the external world.Intrinsic motivations, on theother hand,are derived

from your sense of themeaning of your life — yourTrueNorth. Theyare closely linked to your life storyand theway you frame it. Examplesincludepersonalgrowth, helping other peopledevelop andmaking a dif-ferencein theworld. Schwab’s passion for helpingAmericansachievefinancial independence is anintrin-sic motivation, even if theend result madehim wealthy.

Avoiding TrapsMoving away from external validation of personal

achievement is not easy. Achievement-orientedleadersgrow soaccustomedto successive accomplishmentsthroughout their early years thatit takes courageto pur-sue their intrinsic motivations.

But at some point, mostleaders recognizethat theyneed to address morediffi cult questionsin orderto pur-suetheir truemotivations.As a star consultant for glob-al management firm McKinsey& Company, Al iceWoodwark had achieved success at every stageof herlife by age29.Shenoted: “My version of achievementwas pretty naive, bornof thingsI learned early in li feaboutpraise and being valued.But if you’re just chasingtherabbit aroundthecourse, you’re not running towardanything meaningful.” Many leaders turneddown high-er-paying jobsin early career decisionsin order to pur-suerolestheywould enjoy. Theycameout aheadin theend — in bothsatisfaction and compensation —because theywere successful in doingwhat theyloved.

However, many youngleaders are tempted to takehigh-salaried jobsto pay off loansor build their savings,even if theyhave no interest in thework and do notintendto stay. Some become sodependent on maintain-ing a certain li festyle that theyget trapped in jobswheretheyareunmotivated and unhappy. Locked into thehigh-income/high-expense li fe, theycannotafford to dowork they are passionate about.Ironically, not oneoftheleadersinterviewed woundup taking a positionpredicated uponestablishing wealth early. This courseenabledthem to later pursueroles theywould enjoy. ■

Building Your Support TeamYour supportteamis a key element of your personal

developmentplan. Membersof your team help you stayfocusedon your TrueNorth, keep you groundedin real-ity andprovidethesupportyou needas you ventureonyour leadership journey. Leaders do not succeedon their

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Practicing Your Valuesand Pri nciples(continued frompage4)

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own; theymustgive asmuchto their relationshipsastheyget from them.

TheMost Important PersontoYour LeadershipYour supportteamstartswith havingat least oneper-

sonin your life with whomyou canbecompletely vul-nerableand open.Oftenthatperson is theonly onewhocantell you thehonesttruth. Most leaders have theirclosest relationshipswith their spouses,althoughsomedevelopthesebondswith otherfamily members,a closefriend or a trustedmentor.

MentorsMany authenticleadershavehad a mentorwho has

changedtheir livesby helping themdeveloptheskills tobecomebetterleadersandtheconfidence to leadauthentically. But whatsomepeople,especially aspiringleaders, fail to recognizeis theimportanceof thetwo-way relationshipwith their mentors.Lastingrelation-shipsmust flow both ways. Thebest mentoringinterac-tionssparkmutual learning,exploration of similar val-ues and sharedenjoyment.

Current chairman andformerCEO of Intuit BillCampbell is thedeanof mentoring in SiliconValley.Many venturecapitalists andboardmembers in northernCalifornia will not hire a newCEO without first check-ing with Campbell.Althoughhekeepsa low public pro-file, “CoachCampbell” is oneof SiliconValley’s mostrespectedexecutives.

Campbell hasmentoreddozensof entrepreneursandbusinessleaders.Peoplearedrawn to him becausetheyconsider him a greatmentorandleader who has helpedthemunleashtheir own leadership potential. His selflessspirit, cultivatedon thefootball fields of his youth,hasenabledhim to develop a loyal network of mentees,supportersandfriends.

Thebest mentorsput theinterestsof thosetheyarementoringabove their own. These relationshipscangrow into strongpersonalfriendships, especially whentheparticipantsare no longerin thesameprofessionalcontext.Thecycle thencontinues whenthosewho bene-fited from strongmentoring mentor others.

Creating aProfessional Support NetworkMany leaders developprofessional peer networks

bothwithin andoutsidetheir organizationsto consultwith about importantissuesandto providecounsel andguidance.Havinga peersupportstructurewithin yourorganizationcanbeinvaluable,becausecolleaguesmay

be facing comparable experiences, have insights aboutthingsyou do not see or bein a position to offer youreal-time feedback on your leadership. ■

Staying Grounded: IntegratingYour Lif e

Integrating their lives is oneof thegreatest challengesleadersface. To lead an integratedli fe, you needtobring together themajor elementsof your personalli feand professional life, including work, family, communi-ty andfriends, sothat you can bethesamepersonineach environment.

Authentic leaders are constantly aware of theimpor-tance of staying grounded. In doingso,theyavoidget-ting too arrogant duringthehigh pointsand forgettingwho theyareduringthelow points.Spending timewiththeir families and closefriends,getting physical exer-cise, practicing spirituali ty, doingcommunity serviceand returning to places where theygrewup areall waystheystay grounded. This grounding is essential to theireffectivenessas leadersbecause it enables themto pre-serve their authenticity.

MeasuringSuccessHave you defined whatsuccessmeansfor you andfor

your life? Unlessyou have thoughtthroughtheanswerto thatquestion, you are at risk of letting othersdefinesuccessfor you.Only when you can define what is mostimportant in your life can you set theright prioritiesandbecome an integrated leader. ■

Leadership Wit h PurposeandPassion

In 1998,AndreaJung wasfacing themostdifficult deci-sion of her longand successful career.FouryearsafterjoiningAvon Products, shehadbeenpassedover for pro-motion to CEOin favor of oneof thecompany’s outsideboard members. “I hadanoffer to becomeCEOatanothercompany, but AnnMoore,CEOof Time Inc.and anAvonboard member, advisedmeto stay,”sherecalled. “Shetold me, ‘Follow yourcompassandnot your clock.’”

Jungdecided to stay, becoming president of Avon anda board member. Thedecision changed her life. Just20monthslater, thenewCEO retired, andJungwasnamedhis successorin November1999,becomingAvon’s fi rstfemale CEO.

What is thepurposeof your leadership?Are you fol-

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BuildingYour Support Team(continued frompage5)

lowing theTrueNorth of your compassor thetimetableof your clock?If you examineyour TrueNorth again,you will find that it points theway to thepurposeofyour leadership. Whenyou understand your purpose,you are readyto find anorganization — or create one— whereyou canfulfill thatpurpose.

DiscerningYour PassionsHow do you discernyour passions? For mostleaders

passion comesfrom their li fe stories.By understandingthemeaning of key eventsin your life storyand refram-ing them,you can discernyour passions.Followingyour passionswill enableyou to discover thepurposeofyour leadership. Leaderscansustain their effectivenessonly if theyempoweremployees arounda shared pur-pose.As a leader, you mustconveypassionfor thebusi-nesseverydaywhile maintaining clarity aboutthemis-sionof your organization. ■

Empowering Peopleto LeadIf mutual respectprovides thefoundation for bringing

out thebest in people,whatarethestepsneeded toempower them?Effective leadersuse the followingapproachesatdifferenttimes,dependingon thecapabilitiesof thepeople involvedandthesituation theyarefacing:

• Showing up• Engaging people• Helpingteammates• Challengingleaders• Stretching people• Aligning everyonearounda mission.WoodyAllen onceremarked,“Eighty percent of suc-

cess is showingup.” Surprisingly, many leaders get sobusy they don’t take thetimeto bethere for people.Showingup at importanteventsor at unexpected timesmeansa greatdealto peopleandenables them to taketheir leadersoff their proverbial pedestal andseethemasreal people.

Themost empowering leadersare those who engageawide rangeof people. Thatmeansbeingwith themface-to-face; inquiring abouttheir work, their families,theirpersonal livesandtheir careers; andbeingopen andvul-nerablewith them.Authenticleadershelptheir team-mates, whetherit is with a personal problem or a careerproblem, by counseling them,offering suggestionsorassisting themin making vital contacts.

Most peoplewant to bestretched in assignmentsthat

enable them to develop.Theleader’s key is to sensewhen people are readyfor such challengingexperiences.Yet it is important for your team to know that you willbethere to supportthem if necessary.

Themostempowering condition of all is whentheentire organization is aligned with its mission andpeo-ple’s passionsand purposearein syncwith eachother.Individuals usually have their own passions.If theorga-nization’s leaders can demonstrate how theycanfulfi lltheir purpose while achievingtheorganization’s mis-sion, thenalignment can occur. ■

Honing Your LeadershipEffectiveness

Once you empower people to leadarounda sharedpurpose, you are well positioned to achieve superiorresults throughyour organization.Thefinal stepin max-imizing your effectivenessas an authentic leaderis tohoneyour leadership style and make authentic useofyour power. Theprocessproduces a virtuouscircle thatwill encourageothers to join you and sustain your effec-tivenesson an ongoingbasis.

OptimizingYour Leadership EffectivenessThestyle of an effective leadermust come from an

authentic place. That will only happen when you haveahigh levelof self-awareness, are clear aboutyour valuesand understandyour leadership purpose. Without thisclarity, your style will beshaped by theexpectationsofyour organization or theoutsideworld, and will not beseenas authentic.

Yet your useof style and power must fi t the situationyou are facing,and you haveto beversatile to maxi-mizeyour effectivenessin that situation. In theafter-math of theattack of 9/11,NewYork MayorRudyGiuliani acted decisively to get urgently neededresourcesin place. He had no time to build consensus.In situationslike these, peopleneed decisive leaderstoguidethem efficiently and calmly to solutions. In otherinstances,such aswhen trying to create a futurevisionfor their organizations, leaders need to usea morepar-ticipative style that involves a wide rangeof peopleandgets themengaged and committed to thatvision.

As you think aboutyour leadership style and power,ask yourself thesequestions:

• Is your leadership style consistent with your leader-

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Leadership Wit h Purposeand Passion(continued frompage6)

For additional information on helping teammates and challenging leaders,go to: http://my.summary.com

shipprinciples andvalues?Is it ever inconsistent?• How do you adaptyour style to thecircumstances

facing you andto thecapabilitiesof your teammates?• How do you optimizetheuse of your power in lead-

ing others?• In situationsin which you used your poweroveroth-

ersinappropriately, how did theyrespond?• How do you respondto powerful peoplewho use

their power over you?

Your Leadership StyleHow doyouknow whatleadership style fits youbest?

Many organizationswork hardto get youngleaderstoembrace thecompany’snormative leadershipstyle, sendingthem to training programsto bring their stylesinto line. Ifyousimply adopt anorganization’snormativestyle or tryto emulatesomeoneelse’sstyle,your lack of authenticitywill showthrough. That’swhy youshouldfind a leadershipstyle that is authentic to youandcontinueto refineit.

UsingPowerWiselyTheeffectiveuseof powerin relationshipsis essentialto

achievingone’sgoals.Many leaders in high-level organiza-tional rolesuse their positionalpower to dominateothers.Theydonot realizethat their intimidatingstyleandexces-siveuseof powershutsdownthecontributionsof others.

Theirony is that themorepower oneaccumulates, thelessit shouldbeused.By exerting your power, you aretakingaway thepowerof others.Authentic leadersunderstand they needpower to get thingsdone, but theylearnto useit in subtle ways.Theyprefer to persuadeothers to adopt their point of view or to build a consen-

susrather than force subordi-nates to go along with them.

Adapting to theSituation andtoYour Teammates

As leaders mature throughmultiple experiences, they devel-op an authentic primary leader-ship style that works well forthem. Thatstyle is effective aslong astheir situation or contextstays thesame.But what hap-penswhen the context changes?

In leading, you must alwaysunderstand the situation in whichyou are operating, as well as theperformance imperative.Onceyou understandthecontext, youcan adjust your leadership styleto getresults.

In determining thestyle and power you want to useina given situation, you shouldconsider thereadinessofyour teammates to accept greater power andauthority.For example, teammates who are used to taking cleardirection may not beready to adapt to a leaderwith aconsensusstyle; conversely, followers who arehighlycreative andindependent wil l not respondpositively to adirective style. You shouldalso think carefully aboutthekind of relationship you want to have with your team-matesand what typeof relationship wil l enable yourteam or organization to achieveits business imperatives.Theserelationshipsgenerally fit oneof threetypes:dependent, independent or interdependent.

In creatingdependent relationships, leaders mustrec-ognizethat their teammateswill rely entirely on theirdirection and their decisions. Independent relationshipsgive teammates theautonomy and freedomto actontheir own, but there is little bondingor groupsupport. Increating interdependent relationships, expert, coaching,consensusandaffi liative leaders sharepower with team-matesand bring out their best qualities.Theybelieveinterdependencecreates better decisionsand greatercommitment to ensuring success.

Thebottom line for all leaders is to optimizetheireffectivenessto achievesuperior long-term results.Authentic leaders are moreeffective at doing thisbecause theyhavea clear senseof their moralcompassand are explicitly committedto building their organiza-tionsover time. By developing an authentic leadershipstyle, theyget thebest from their teammates andtheirorganizations. ■

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RECOMMENDEDREADING LIST

If you liked True North,you’ll also like:1. How Full Is Your Bucket?

by Tom Rath and DonaldO. Clifton. An explorationof how positive psycholo-gy used in everyday inter-actions can dramaticallychange lives.

2. A Leader’s Legacy byJames M. Kouzes andBarry Z. Posner. Theauthors show how a lega-cy is more than a link to aposition or place in anorganization.

3. The 360° Leader by JohnC. Maxwell. You can learnto develop your influencefrom wherever you are inan organization by becom-ing a 360-degree leader.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries®

Summary: TRUE NORTHHoning Your Leadership Effectiveness(continued frompage7)

LinkingLeadership Styleand PowerYour style conveys your sense of power, just as

your use of power reflects your leadership style.• Directive leaders create dependent relationships

with their subordinates, who obediently carry outtheir orders and respond to their demands.• Coaching leaders create interdependent

relationships.• Consensus leaders use power in subtle ways to

reach agreement without hurting others’ feelings orisolating people with different points of view.• Affiliative leaders are embraced by others for

their highly empathic relationships.• Expert leaders believe knowledge is power and

being right and efficient is more important thanrelationships.