Authentic Leadership

Bill George

Bill George is the former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic and is a spokesperson for responsible leadership. He shares his views in his book, Authentic Leadership.

Introduction: Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

Bill George begins by explaining that the fall of Enron focused the world's attention on the need for authentic leadership among top executives.

While the emphasis on increasing shareholder value led to great improvements in the competitiveness of American business, Bill George argues that this emphasis became a victim of its own success as companies struggled to meet the ever increasing earnings expectations of security analysts.

Executive stock options further increased the focus on stock price. If a corporation met Wall Street expectations, CEOs would earn huge amounts of money from their options. If not, they would lose their jobs. This system led some executives to begin operating outside of generally accepted accounting principles in order to satisfy shareholders. Such practices could not continue indefinitely.

As a result of the accounting scandals, new legislation was passed. While some of the laws may be needed, Bill George believes that the deeper issue is that of the integrity of corporate leaders.

In Authentic Leadership, Bill George addresses the leadership challenge as follows:

Development of authentic leaders.
How authentic leaders build authentic companies.
How authentic companies compete more effectively.
How authentic leaders look beyond the bottom line.

Purchase Information

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Authentic Leadership : Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
by Bill George