It has been estimated that we spend over 70% of our adult lives working and/or
doing work-related things; like commuting, thinking or talking about work, etc. If you
are like me that statistic does not make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, it stops me.

Cold.

It has also been said that upon dying no one will ever say, “I wish that I had spent
more time in the office.” Agreed.

All that being said, most of us have not been blessed with a bank account that affords
us the opportunity to stop working for income and instead devote our time and
talents to a more worthy cause. So, what are we to do?

Upon careful reflection over the last several years, I have come to concretely believe
that we choose whether or not we live a life of significance and purpose. This
principle applies directly to our professional life as well as our personal life.
For those individuals in a leadership role there is a profound opportunity to make a
difference in the lives of those who look to you for direction.

All too often; however, leaders manage their staffs into mediocrity. In a quest to
organize, standardize, quantify and minimize risk, (all worthy endeavors in their
proper place) creativity, innovation and a passion for excellence are usually
squelched.

In some cases, those employees with a spirit of “why not?” or “let’s try this!” are
looked upon with suspicion by their supervisors or given indulgent smiles.
Leadership that focuses on significance would instead, skillfully guide and grow that
budding solutions-orientation into a seasoned talent that initiates excellence rather
than waits for it to happen.

“True-North Leadership”, is a phrase that I use to describe a style of leading and
guiding others by absolutes. To better understand “true-north leadership”, let’s
explore the analogy. If you were leading a group over some unfamiliar territory and found yourself lost, a compass would be a helpful tool. Wouldn’t it?

The interesting thing about a compass is that although the magnetic poles
correspond roughly with the actual geographical poles, a compass is susceptible to a
number of factors: interfering magnetic material, the ever changing flux of magnetic
north, etc. And by the way, the north magnetic pole is located at approximately
78.9°N latitude and 103.8°W longitude, over 600 miles from the geological North
Pole.

Direction relative to the Geographic North Pole is regarded as TRUE NORTH. True
North, (geographically speaking) is fixed.

Now a variance of up to 600 miles, (depending on your perspective) may be close, but
still . . . no cigar. And frankly, I wouldn’t want to be following you on a trek if you
thought being that far off the mark was “okay-dokey”.

How often in business do we start off our day, or began working with a new team
member or close a fiscal year and find that we somehow ended up where we did not
want to be? Or, discover that we became so busy that we forgot which way was up?
One of the oldest and yet most accurate ways of finding true north is using Polaris
(the North Star) as a guide. Another option is to do some mathematical equations (if
you can remember them) and make up for the variances between magnetic north and
true north.

True-North Leadership is a style of leading and guiding others by absolutes. For the
sake of minimizing mathematical equations and room for error, let’s focus on locating
your professional Polaris (North Star). Fixed points that will, if you choose to set
your course by them, provide a journey of significance and purpose.

Alignment

Compass Reading: Surveys and focus groups indicate that your customers and your
team members are satisfied. You decide to keep managing things as status quo.

True North Reading: What do your customers (investors, residents, and employees)
REALLY want? What type of service would not just satisfy their expectations, but
actually earn their loyalty?

It is people’s actions that count, more than what they say. For instance, I can visit your restaurant and if you provide me with clean, tastefully decorated environment, delicious food and attentive service . . . I am satisfied during this experience. The next time I am hungry, I may come to your restaurant again or if the drive is a little too far, or there is a closer place that is less expensive or has my favorite food, I will go there. Loyalty; however, induces me to drive further, or pay more, or discard other options because you have somehow connected with me emotionally, intellectually and experientially.

Application: Be sure that your actions align with a true-north goal, like earning
loyalty rather than simply satisfying the expectation. Asking is good, noting actions
and processing them into a competitive advantage that breathes and can expand is
on-target. Alignment requires adjustment, flex and consistent check-ups. Earning
loyalty is time-intensive, it can even be costly, but assumptions and going on “autopilot”
in business can bankrupt you.

Quote: “Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won’t buy the wag of his tail.”–Josh Billings

Alliances

Compass Reading: As a supervisor, you must know as many of the answers as
possible and be able to unclog the work flow pipelines whenever they break down, or
fix the floods that happen. You are a problem-solver and have the experience to
make results happen under your watchful eye.

True-North Reading: If your job as a leader is mainly comprised of fixing situations,
people or projects, something is seriously off base. In times of true emergency,
autocratic leadership is generally best until the situation has stabilized, but what
about all the times urgent issues arise that masquerade as a “crisis”?

It takes strength to say, “Take the next day or two and put together a solution or a plan of
action to handle this. We’ll sit down and review it and I’ll mentor you and support
you through all the way. I believe in you.”

Sure.

You could handle the “urgent problem” with your eyes closed. You could rattle
off marching orders that (lickety-split) solve the issue and everyone draws a sigh of
relief because there is no discomfort or stress involved. No thinking, growing or
stretching required. Plus, if the solution fails, the blame lies with you, not them.

Application: True-North Leadership requires that you build alliances or partnerships
with your team. Give them opportunity to risk, demand on-purpose action and most
certainly, growth will occur. Work towards developing a “swat team” (team of
experts). Work toward creating an alliance of team members where each individual
knows their attributes, is confident in your commitment of mentoring them and
disarms their self due to your dedication to supporting them on their individual (and
team) areas that need improvement. The team will learn to trust you, and walk on
their own two feet heading true-north, not because you’ll “catch them if they don’t”,
but because you have taught them to believe anything less than their best effort is
beneath their value and potential.

Quote: “He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.”–Abraham Lincoln

Authenticity

Compass Reading: If you blow it, it is better to play it cool. Perhaps, the people
following you won’t notice or if you talk in circles about a delayed decision or a
dropped ball, they will eventually shrug their shoulders and say, “Whatever.” You
believe it is the supervisor’s responsibility and burden to “protect people” from bad
news and to “play down” your mistakes, after all, you’re the supervisor.

True-North Reading: You will blow it. Daily. Most people are not fooled and they do
care. It generally seems safer politically for the employee to pretend not to notice or
care. Instead, take advantage of those “dropped balls” and use them as yet another
opportunity to “be real”. Earn respect and be credible when you make a mistake.
Own it. Work out a solution. And then, get over it. Your team will. Quickly. Why?

Because they have learned from watching your actions that they can count on you to
be authentic. You have become a role model demonstrating how they should act
when they blow it (in case you haven’t noticed they will make mistakes, daily).
Rather than “protecting people” from news that is less than favorable, in most cases
it is wise to let them be a part of the remedy.

Application: Being authentic and dropping the mask is a pretty rare quality. It has
everything to do with character and nothing to do politics. I’ve spent a lot of years
working as a performance consultant and I can tell you that one of the greatest
challenges executives’ face is being willing to show enough vulnerability to earn the
respect and loyalty of their customers (both internal and external).

I’m not advocating, for a daily unloading of faults and foibles. I am challenging you however to be the kind of leader that you wish that you would have had throughout your career. The individual who not just teaches you the ropes, but also shows you the scars from rope-burns and is wise enough to learn from you as well.

Quote: “Real generosity to the future lies in giving all to the present.”–Albert Camus

Conclusion

Since you most likely will be spending almost ¾’s of your adult life working, I
encourage you to not simply survive your career. Rather than spending your time in
a blur of activity . . . Pause.

Reflect.

Find your Polaris and engage, no, invest yourself in choosing to be a leader who is on-purpose. Forge ahead; true north to living a life of significance.