TRUE NORTH GROUPS

Navigating life's challenges on your own isn't just lonely, it is also counterproductive to personal growth and development. Whether you are looking to develop your leadership skills or to grow as a person, you need long-term feedback, support, and encouragement. For the past thirty-five years Bill George and Doug Baker have found this in what they call a True North Group, a small, diverse collection of individuals who meet on a regular basis to explore their lives and develop their self-awareness, self-compassion, authenticity, and EQ. Unlike a typical affinity group such as a book club or prayer group, the purpose of True North groups is to help its members succeed in their work and in their lives by providing a consistent environment in which personal development is not just possible, but the aim.

In this desperately needed new book George and Baker have uncovered a new secret to success in work and life. They demonstrate why these small groups are the vital link to both leadership and personal development, and adapting an established five-stage team-building format, show exactly how to form a new group or transform an existing group into a True North Group. They provide a wealth of practical resources, including advice on selecting members, suggested topics for the first twelve meetings, techniques to evaluate group satisfaction, and much more. For the millions of people who are searching for greater meaning and intimacy in their lives, this book will help them to grow as leaders and as human beings and to stay on course to their True North.

Bill George is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic Inc. He is the author of Authentic Leadership, True North, Finding Your True North, and 7 Lessons for Leading in Crisis.

Doug Baker is president of the True North Groups Institute and former senior vice president for Human Resources of American Express Financial Advisors.

Foreword author Richard Leider is ranked by Forbes as one of the top 5 most respected executive coaches and by Linkage as one of the Top 50 executive coaches in America. He is the author of the bestsellers The Power of Purpose and Repacking Your Bags.

From Publisher's Weekly

For years, Harvard Business School professor Bill George (True North) and corporate executive Doug Baker have been running True North groups. These groups help executives and leaders maintain their personal integrity and ethical compass by allowing them to periodically open up to fellow leaders in a safe environment. Participants share personal challenges, discuss strategies, and provide a support network for each other. Here, the authors provide a step-by-step guide for why one should start a True North group and how to do so. In addition, they discuss the importance of setting ground rules and norms, and offer suggestions for how to get through the bonding process during the first few meetings. This frank assessment of what their groups offer and how they must be structured lends the process credence, but readers who have never heard of True North groups will need to catch up very quickly to gain useful insights. Though it may be difficult for people who aren't business leaders to immediately see the value of the group, they will feel inspired once they do, and after they've bought into the True North message, they can use this helpful book to start their own.