True North

“True North is the internal compass that guides you successfully through life,” by Bill George.

The book True North is a leadership guidebook highlighting the self in becoming an effective and successful leader. The book is structured into three sections to make it easier for readers to gain a full understanding of authentic leadership. Exercises are also included at the end of each chapter to stimulate thought and practice of specific leadership concepts.

A "new generation of leaders" is described in the introduction as being far more varied than their forebears, more global in their vision, and more likely to be promoted from within. The book provides biographies of other leaders with comparable reasons rooted in religious rituals and beliefs. The book has promotion of motives based on faith may easily be seen as directly opposing the increasingly global nature of leadership.

It is discovered that the hardest person that one will lead is himself. Overcoming oneself is the key to leading others. One must be able to win against the obstacles and challenges in life to be a master of oneself. I can connect this to my cadetship because a cadet must overcome himself to become an officer. One must have discipline and a mindset to be in line with the principle of the academy or the organization.

The book has highlighted six principal areas which are necessary for leadership. These are gaining self-awareness, practicing your values and principles under pressure, balancing your extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, building your support team, staying grounded by integrating your life, and understanding the passion and purpose of your leadership. If these areas are covered, it would be easy to lead as it is significant to leading yourself. One must be able to explore his true character and his passions and his motivations to make crucial decisions.

In conclusion, the book is a great read, especially dealing with leadership. It is a personal experience for a reader to read this book as it can awaken the leadership inside. It is the aim of people to be authentic leaders and with the help of this book, they can attain it. The book helps guide the decision of readers by following their True North and inner compass.

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Reference:

“True North Summary.” Quickread.com, quickread.com/book-summary/true-north-337. Accessed 12 Feb. 2023.

Mgmt, and Leadership Reviews. VCU Scholars Compass. 2016.