Bill George and 21st Century Leadership

On Friday I had the pleasure of introducing Bill George, the former CEO of Medtronic, as he addressed the Club WOW symposium.   I like his books very much.  Authentic Leadership is a very good reflection on practical aspects of leadership, and True North builds upon his account, sharing learning from 120+ interviews with a wide range of leaders. As he pointed out, the latter emerged from research that was atypical for a professor at the Harvard Business School, but the qualitative learning was impressive, even to (at least some of) his colleagues there. Both books are well-written, without a ghostwriter, and both integrate personal experience into thoughtful frameworks that actually add value. I recommend them highly.

 

 

George’s talk was also excellent. Among his themes was a great discussion of what he calls “21^st Century Leadership,” which he contrasted briefly with more conventional views. I think he rightly described the conventional wisdom that leadership focuses on the ability to attract and direct followers. The most-outdated views, I think, equate leadership with charisma and leading with persuading and directing. Even more contemporary views, though, connect leadership with skills (rather than some natural gift) related to managing and directing. (There’s more that I’d like to say about the evolution of leadership development, in future posts.) George argues persuasively that authentic leadership has very little to do with “followers.”

 

Instead of focusing on persuading or directing, George argues that effective leaders today will succeed by achieving three intermediate ends:

These are easy words to type, and harder goals to achieve. Doing so begins, George points out, with the leader understanding him- or herself deeply, and being able to connect with others on a very personal level.   In fact, he really focused on the very personal dimensions of being aware of one’s self and exhibiting a deep commitment to some ennobling purpose.

 

With his third aspect of leadership, George very directly reinforced one of the fundamental premises of the Hill Center’s mission: that companies can prosper through a strategic commitment to ethics and social responsibility. He acknowledged the responsibility of a corporation to serve its shareholders.  Then he made the critical connection: that shareholders are best served by organizations that focus primarily on serving customers! I would add a company is best able to serve customers if it also meets the needs – and earns the loyalty - of employees, vendors, and other key stakeholders. 

 

One size does not fit all: every situation is unique, and an organization must serve stakeholders in ways that truly strengthen the firm’s ability to capture and deliver value. Effective leadership, though, is leadership that focuses on serving others in meaningful ways.   It was especially heartening to hear this message from someone of Bill George’s stature and experience, and to watch an audience of emerging entrepreneurs listen intently to it.

 

 

I don’t mean to sound surprised that Bill George’s books are good, or that his talk was insightful. He’s truly an outstanding person, who exemplifies all that he recommends. However, I’ve read a fair number of books on leadership, encompassing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not to mention the trite, the obvious, and the self-serving. These books are worth reading. As time goes on, I expect to share more about the broader literature, perhaps making some interesting connections between the various sub-genres of the leadership literature. At least, that’s my intention…

 

 

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