September 25th - Leadership Character

Good character is always the foundation for successful leadership. There has been much said on the qualities and combination of abilities that makes an exemplary leader. Of those many qualities that are recognized, I consider a leader's depth of character to be the most powerful. Leadership character is the measure by which the organization considers itself. If for example the leader understands and outwardly practices principles of servanthood, those within the group will see servanthood as valuable, as that which is rewarded, as that which gives rise to success. The leader's character therefore, becomes critical to his organization's success.

While character certainly develops over time, learning, and experience, it firstly comes naturally. That is, character traits from birth and those formed early on in life become the lens or filter through which a person view's the rest of life and the world around them. Our world view then, is formed directly from it. As we go through life's hills and valley's we add experiential learning as a structure of sorts that sits upon the foundation of our character that's already been laid. Life situations can happen that dramatically affect the structure we've built, and sometimes even the very foundation itself. Whatever forms it, our character is the part we consider to be the true "us."

Our early learned character traits become the foundation of our decisions which affect ourselves as well as others. In the context of leadership, our character is a driving force which can dramatically affect not only our direct reports, but the cascading levels of the organization. This means that character flaws or foopas within leadership can have a big impact on productivity and eventual success or failure. Specifically, it will have an impact on the core needs of individuals with the organization - the need for meaningful work and direction, for trust between people, for hope, and ultimately for results (Bennis, 1999), which will immediately impact the organizaion's success.

So what's the point? What's important to the leader (based on his character) will be important to the organization and hence give the organization the capability to succeed (or fail). The leader's character will emmanate outwardly through his decisions, measurements, mission, objectives, strategy, rewards, disciplines, and management. Depending on the quality of that character, the staff will either draw towards those ideas and synergy will result, or they will recoil and the organization wille eventually collapse.

Good character, based on a principled definition of good, will bring success. Poor character, based on self alone, will not sustain. It is imperative that leadership take up the banner of principled leadership, that character strengths are reinforced, and character flaws are no longer fed.