Page 195 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

184 HBR Leader’s Handbook

tends to form through childhood and early adulthood, and many aspects
of it will remain constant throughout your life. But people do change and
evolve over time and grow in their self-understanding, which may reshape
certain aspects of what they believe and care about. As a leader, you’ll find
it helpful to keep reflecting on the values and beliefs that are your inner
North Star, the core that guides your decisions and actions as a member of
human society and that your followers will use in committing themselves
to your leadership.
Consider more deeply the following aspects of character in yourself.

Purpose
Why do you do what you do? What impact do you want to have on the
world?
Your deeply held personal beliefs will directly inform and shape the
work you do with your organization. As we saw in chapter 1, when leaders
develop a vision, it must honor the broader purpose of the organization
itself, and they’ll be most effective when their personal sense of purpose
aligns with that. For example, PBS president Paula Kerger has had a life-
long commitment to educating and improving American society through
media. She’s been a revered leader at PBS because she so authentically
aligns and believes in the mission of the system, as seen in her support of
a new children’s channel strategy. Stanley McChrystal, born into a family
tradition of military service, inspired followers far and wide with his pa-
triotic purpose of developing a new approach to countering the terrorism
of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Your purpose may be constant, or it may evolve over your working life.
After years in different companies, John Lundgren became CEO of Stan-
ley Black & Decker at the end of his career because of his personal desire
to turn around an iconic brand headquartered in New England where he
grew up.

Values
What are the principles and standards you aim to follow in working with
other people? What truths are worthy of preservation and defense, and