The Big Deal About Leadership Character

We spend much time talking about, building, and teaching technical skills. That is great. However, we spend too little time discussing and nurturing good character. A skilled leader with good character is a gift, but a leader with good skills and poor character can be a nightmare. Leadership character is a big deal.

The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. A true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

I recently heard of a young man who ran in to assist when he heard his neighbor screaming for help.  The neighbor was being attacked. What made this even more impactful is the young man and his neighbor were not on speaking terms for several years. That made headline news. In an interview about the situation, a friend of the young man said, “Helping others was just his character.”

In a more personal situation, a peer who competed with me for a position shared some critical information that would help me. When I asked why, he responded that it was unfair that management only shared the information with him, leaving me with a handicap. Both situations reflect behaviors that led to decisions demonstrating good character.  

What is Leadership Character?

Leadership character is doing the right things with the right intentions. That goes beyond ethics and moral standards. It includes managerial excellence (treating self and others right), operational excellence (doing the right things right), and motivational excellence (doing the right things for the right reasons).

Character is reflected in the behaviors of everyone and shows up in many forms. That includes a person’s integrity, willingness to accept responsibility for failures, and even Compassion for others.

Character Self-Reflection

Our character as a leader will get tested.  What’s a test? A test is a process to establish the quality, reliability, and authenticity of something or someone. In other words, tests will prove our true selves. Therefore, we should continually do self-evaluation to stay on track. One way is to ask ourselves questions like the following.

• Is my success coming at the cost of my character?

• How do I behave when no one is watching?

• How do I behave when tempted to do something wrong?

Every day, we make conscious and unconscious character decisions. That includes choosing either doing what’s right or wrong, doing a job of quality or mediocre, and standing alone on a conviction or acquiescing to a popular position. A leader’s character determines his or her response.

The best test of character has no eyewitnesses. It’s how you behave when no one is watching.

– Kennedy Germain

The Big Deal About Leadership Character

If you believe leaders need to focus on character because it gives them moral strength, builds trust, establishes credibility, and signals integrity, that’s correct. However, having a good character goes beyond moral and ethical reasons.

• Decision making: It strengthens a leader’s judgment and helps him or her make better decisions.

• Business results: When a leader makes good decisions, it impacts the business results and enables that leader to deliver better outcomes.

• Purpose: A leader needs to know their purpose. Character helps a leader stay aligned with their true north (purpose).

• Halo effect: One of the most important jobs of a leader is to develop others. A leader who does a good job developing others, will by default, replicate their leadership character through those they influence.

Developing Leadership Character

You can always take a class on leadership skills, but character, on the other hand, is shaped by internal beliefs, values, and experiences. Leadership character is developed through coaching, mentoring, and nurturing.  

While leadership skills can be leveraged situationally, character is a continuum. It grows over time and does not take breaks. You either have a good character or not. Considering no one is perfect, we may sometimes fail the character test due to temptations, tests, and trials. However, there are things we can do to build and strengthen our leadership character muscles.

1. Adopt high standards.

2. Strive for better habits.

3. Surround yourself with accountability buddies.

4. Be true to your values and convictions.

5. Let your words, actions, and motivations be aligned and true.

Leadership Character goes beyond ethics and moral standards. It’s about the judgment and decision-making of effective leaders to further their businesses, their organizations, and most importantly, themselves.

Empowered Leader Reflection

Who do you know is a model of leadership character, and what makes you believe that?

One more thing. Would you share your thoughts below on the topic?

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