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Bill George, author of True North, kicked off the Invitational Forum on Leadership and Management with a great first session. Here’s a sampling of what he had to say:

- “Our job as leaders is to empower, to align, and to serve.” He went on to say that those kinds of skills are often called the “soft” side of leadership, but in his opinion, they are really the hard side. “Making the numbers is easy. Getting alignment is hard.”

- None of us has all of the skills of the ideal leader. But you’ll become the best leader you can be by being yourself, being authentic—not by trying to emulate someone else.

- George said that he knew it was time to leave his position at Honeywell when he realized that “[Honeywell] was changing me more than I was changing it.” What a great way to measure whether you’re productively seeking change at your organization—or beating your head against a wall.

- He related a story about Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon, who was originally passed over for the CEO position and considering leaving the company. A board member told her, “Andrea, follow your compass, not your clock.” In other words, focus on being true to what’s most important to you, and not on an arbitrary timetable.

- George was impassioned about the importance of going out to see members and customers in the field, in their workplaces, to really understand their needs and concerns. When he was CEO of Medtronic, he required his staff to visit their doctor customers and observe a medical procedure every month. How many associations have their staff visiting members on their home turf once a month?

- He spoke about the importance of transparency; associations, he said, can sometimes hide behind processes and paperwork instead of offering true engagement. Processes are needed but should be invisible; engagement should be the visible side.

- A member of the audience commented on the importance of offering members meaningful opportunities to volunteer—not just busywork. George agreed, and said that those meaningful opportunities will come through bold goals, clarity of vision, and tackling of tough, contentious issues.