Billy Florence - Stay True To What You Believe
I recently read these leadership tips on the Gallup website. Bill George was being interviewed about his books, Authentic Leadership and True North. I felt like these thoughts were worth sharing...
Billy Florence - Leadership Tips by Bill George
GMJ: The idea of True North is based on authentic leadership. What is an authentic leader?
Bill George: Being an authentic leader means being true to who you are and what you believe in. You understand the purpose of your leadership, and you practice your values consistently. It's not just about having good values, but actually practicing them, especially under pressure.
It's about leading with your heart, not just your head -- so you're leading as a whole person. And when I talk about matters of the heart, I'm referring to qualities like empathy, compassion, passion, and courage.
GMJ: What do you mean by "true north"?
George: "True north" came out of the 125 interviews we did. We asked people what enabled them to become effective leaders. They told us that staying true to what they believed helped them, despite the pressures and seductions of the real world. They fully acknowledged that there are tremendous temptations out there. There are a lot of gray areas in business; it's not all black and white.
Most people know what their true north is. But the deeper questions are: Have you developed yourself as a leader? When you're under pressure and you start to deviate, does your inner compass click in and pull you back to your true north? Are you grounded enough to know that you're getting off track? Or do you get into trouble by not paying attention to your true north, little by little, bit by bit?
So many leaders who've gotten themselves into deep trouble started out with just a few minor deviations. We learned that the hardest person you'll ever have to lead is yourself. If you can lead yourself, leading others is easy.
© 2007 Florence News reprint permission to Billy Florence Team Dream Chasers site.
Billy Florence - Leadership Tips by Bill George
GMJ: The idea of True North is based on authentic leadership. What is an authentic leader?
Bill George: Being an authentic leader means being true to who you are and what you believe in. You understand the purpose of your leadership, and you practice your values consistently. It's not just about having good values, but actually practicing them, especially under pressure.
It's about leading with your heart, not just your head -- so you're leading as a whole person. And when I talk about matters of the heart, I'm referring to qualities like empathy, compassion, passion, and courage.
GMJ: What do you mean by "true north"?
George: "True north" came out of the 125 interviews we did. We asked people what enabled them to become effective leaders. They told us that staying true to what they believed helped them, despite the pressures and seductions of the real world. They fully acknowledged that there are tremendous temptations out there. There are a lot of gray areas in business; it's not all black and white.
Most people know what their true north is. But the deeper questions are: Have you developed yourself as a leader? When you're under pressure and you start to deviate, does your inner compass click in and pull you back to your true north? Are you grounded enough to know that you're getting off track? Or do you get into trouble by not paying attention to your true north, little by little, bit by bit?
So many leaders who've gotten themselves into deep trouble started out with just a few minor deviations. We learned that the hardest person you'll ever have to lead is yourself. If you can lead yourself, leading others is easy.
© 2007 Florence News reprint permission to Billy Florence Team Dream Chasers site.
Labels: Billy Florence, Leadership Billy Florence
posted by Billy Florence at
8:58 AM
