Book Review: Authentic Leadership

Authentic Leadership
Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value
Author: Bill George
Paperback: 240 pages, $12.21
Published: August 2003

Authentic Leadership was easily one of the most fascinating business books I’ve read all year. I didn’t buy this book. It was a textbook one of my employees purchases for one of their college classes. I never read any of my college course books and I’m pretty certain Seth didn’t read this one. His loss!

Authentic is a powerful book written for CEOs and company leaders in a post-Enron environment. Taking its cues from the deception, mismanagement and destruction caused by the leaders of Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Anderson and Global Crossings, George writes his book from the other side of the playing field. This isn’t a book about growing your profits, increasing stock value, or building your self (as CEO) up, but about how truly authentic leadership does all of those things plus more.

George is in business to help people, not to gain wealth. Pursuing the latter without the former may lead to temporary gains but many companies led by such CEOs find themselves in financial disaster later. By pursuing an authentic leadership style George proves that not only are the people the company serves better off but the company is better off as well.

This is the book every corporate and business leader needs to read. George recounts numerous stories from his corporate leadership experiences and isn’t afraid to tell it like it was. Having worked for in-authentic companies in the past George tells of the trials and ultimately his decisions to move on despite the risks involved. He draws from his own experiences as CEO of Medtronic and how his decade of authentic leadership help drive the company from less than one to over seven billion dollars in revenue, all while adhering to the companies core values.