Ep 7: Bill George – How to live your life by a compass, not a clock

In today’s highly competitive hustle culture, maintaining even a semblance of “balance” is more challenging than ever. The really smart people have discovered that direction is more important than speed.One of those really smart people is Bill Geroge. He’s former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company. Under Bill’s leadership, the company’s market capitalization grew from $1.1 billion to $60 billion.Bill has been a director of Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobile, Novartis, Target, and the Mayo Clinic. Today he’s executive fellow at Harvard Business School.In addition to that street cred, Bill has written several bestselling books related to leadership and self-management. His latest is True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace.Along with insights helpful in the workplace, Bill offers stories related to people’s personal lives. For example, he tells about a CEO who was struggling with his third marriage. He went to a therapist and said, “I have a wife selection problem. I’m not choosing the right wives.” The next week the therapist told him: “I have good news for you. You don’t have a wife selection problem. You have a husband behavior problem.”Blind spots, Bill points out, are things that other people see in you and you can't see in yourself. “Maybe you got so egotistical you're turning people off. But you can't see that in yourself. That's when you need wise people around you. They'll have the courage to confront you.”* The dimensions of authentic leadership are purpose, values, relationships, self-discipline, and heart.* If you’re not continuing to learn, you’re likely in the wrong place. * A critical part of growing as a leader is the transformation from “I” to “We.”* What can you learn from Bill’s experience at Honeywell regarding “sense of purpose” that can help you in your career choices?* How can you tweak your own leadership practices to genuinely reflect the kind of authenticity Bill talks about?* In what ways can you create an environment of psychological safety so people will give you unvarnished feedback? Get full access to LeaderSHOP at podcast.leadershop.net/subscribe