| |
| |
|
Leadership Information |
|
|
|
Character -- Why It Matters In Leaders
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." -Thomas Paine "The best index to a person's character is (a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can't fight back." -Abigail van Buren "Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are to some extent a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece?by thought, choice, courage, and determination." -John Luther Long ____________________________________________ Here is a simple tip for aspiring leaders - It is far better to have character than to be one. I once heard Bob McEwen (former Congressman from Ohio) define character as the combination of morality and integrity. According to his definition, morality is not doing the wrong thing while integrity is having the strength to do the right thing. Based on this definition, character is not something you just have. You must work to build character every day. It is something that develops over time, but is destroyed in a moment. Why, as a leader, is character a big deal? Without even considering the moral and legal implications of character lapses, just look at the impact on your organization. As John Maxwell says, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." By this standard, your personal character will become the character of your organization. Consider these facts: ? 58% of workers surveyed indicated that employee fraud would decrease if managers (company leaders) were better role models (Oct 2002, Ernst & Young, "The CPA Letter") ? 80% of people surveyed indicated that they decide to buy a firm's goods or services partly on their perception of its ethics (2003, Wirthlin Worldwide) ? Unethical behavior leads to more sabotaging behavior in the workplace, such as: o Under delivering on commitments o Over promising to win a customer or gain support for a project o Wasting time and energy guarding turf o Lowering goals to avoid failure rather than striving for excellence o Padding the budget to look better o Fudging results to stay competitive o Hiding facts o Skipping over details o Withholding praise from others o Hogging credit o Shifting or buffering blame o Looking for scapegoats (Case Western Reserve University, Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science) As you can see from the results of these studies, the character of the leader affects not only the behavior of the organization, but its results as well. I do not know all the details of the Enron or MCI WorldCom scandals, but I do know that the fallout hurt the companies and their employees. These examples are extreme cases of character failures, but many smaller ones happen in business and organizational life every day. As usual, I have a story to relate to illustrate my point. One time I hired a man to work in a department I managed. During the hiring process, I realized that a woman in the department, working in the same capacity, was significantly underpaid compared to both industry standards and the starting salary of the man we were hiring. I immediately went to my supervisor and attempted to negotiate a resolution plan. In response to my request to adjust her salary he asked, "Does she know that he will be making more than her?" This perspective floored me. It seems that her knowledge of the situation, rather than a determination of whether it was right or wrong, was the deciding factor on whether it should be addressed or not. At that moment, I remembered a statement I had heard long before: "Character is what you do when no one is watching." Unfortunately, I was unable to persuade my supervisor to take action in this case. This response severely damaged my trust and respect for both the person and the organization. I eventually left the organization for other reasons, but in retrospect, I probably should have left sooner. When it comes to character, leaders simply cannot compromise. You can staff your organization to compensate for skill and knowledge deficiencies. You must stand alone on character. Do not let short-term thinking entice you into small, subtle concessions on matters of character. Be a leader of high morals and impeccable integrity in everything you do. So, I encourage you to remember this simple tip . . . It is far better to have character than to be one. You may use this article for electronic distribution if you will include all contact information with live links back to the author. Notification of use is not required, but I would appreciate it. Please contact the author prior to use in printed media. Copyright 2005, Guy Harris Guy Harris is a Recovering Engineer. He works as Relationship Repairman and People-Process Integrator. His background includes service as a US Navy Submarine Officer, functional management with major multi-national corporations, and senior management in an international chemical business. As the owner of Principle Driven Consulting, he helps entrepreneurs, business managers, and other organizational leaders improve team performance by applying the principles of human behavior. Guy co-authored "The Behavior Bucks System(tm)" to help parents reduce stress and conflict with their children by effectively applying behavioral principles in the home. Learn more about this book at http://www.behaviorbucks.com Learn more about Guy at http://www.principledriven.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Leadership - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Mentor? Who Needs A Mentor? Who needs a mentor. . Partnership: Choose It or Lose It Charlotte decides to do good. Charlotte is a highly motivated worker. Tough Times Demand Resilient Leaders The stock market gyrates with unpredictable and heartburning results. Icons of solid companies become straw figures before balance sheets. A Whack Up Long Side The Head Of Human Resources: The Leadership Imperative When we perceive the simple center in the seemingly complex, we can change our world in powerful new ways.Albert Einstein perceived the simple E=MC2 in the complexities of physical reality and changed the history of the 20th century. You Make The Difference What do you think makes your company successful? Your newest hardware or software? The newest system you've put into place? The best location in town? Although these are important, they are not the key to success.Today it's not enough to produce a product and get the work done. 3 Aspects of Developing Leadership Skills Everyone knows that great leaders are made, not born. However good that statement sounds, we still want to know how we "make" or turn people effective leaders. Four Obstacles to Exceptional Leadership--Part 1 "Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them." -- Orison Swett MardenEvery day leaders are faced with challenges to expand their thinking, overcome obstacles and embrace potential growth. A Winning Choice for Leadership! "The only way to enjoy anything in this life, is to earn it first." -Ginger RodgersOne bad apple can spoil the bunch! As a leader, we cannot allow "bad apples" to interrupt our efforts toward achieving our goals. Value Driver Leadership CHAPTER 1 ************ VALUEThose qualities regarded by a person or group as important and desirable of standards and principlesWhat is value driven leadership? Have you ever considered having a value driven leadership team? Or even a team driven by values and not a team having to be driven by the leader? That thought alone made me consider looking into the way I ran my teams and how I could do things better; this is the driving force behind writing this book. When you think about it, in everything we do as individuals or a team we should always be 'values driven' not impulse or need driven! If we are driven by values then we will always have a "why" in everything we do, and then we will do what we do with everything that is in us, come hell or high water (test, trials, pressure, set back or circumstances). Business Leadership: How Much is in Your Credibility Bank Account? Business leaders have more than a title on their doors. They also have the trust and confidence of those who work for them; who work with them; and who buy from them. Characteristics of a Good Leader It's interesting to hear the responses from executives when I ask them, "What are the characteristics of a good Leader?"If I ask that question in a large room of executives, or even upper level managers the answers will be all over the map, and many are conflicting.A couple of the usual answers are: A leader is someone that empowers those working for him to make their own decisions. Leadership and Followership in a Team Setting Many solopreneurs work in a team environment either with their client's staff, or with subcontractors. Having spent over 20 years in a teaming environment before becoming a solopreneur 13 years ago, I know that during the course of any highly functioning team effort, the leadership and followership roles flow back and forth between the members. Two Leadership Traps: How To Avoid Them and How To Get Out Of Them (Part 2) Here's how to get out of, or avoid, the "I need .. Leadership: Wisdom of the Ages If you gather 100 experienced leaders together to share with you their most important secrets for success, you probably wouldn't hear a lot of academic theory or jargon. Instead, this is a good idea of what you'd hear:1) Put ethics first. Leader is Not a Title There is a steady flow of information in the form of books, articles, white papers and training all in the context of [ "what is leadership" or "how to develop a leader"]?. In this issue, I will avoid those two questions and write about two others that I believe might be on the minds of a lot you readers and they are:Why does better leadership make a difference? andHow does better leadership achieve those differences?If you ask yourself and others the first question, why does better leadership make a difference? the answer will most likely be because better leadership creates high performing teams with strong sense of personal and collective power. The Four Laws Of Leadership (Part One) Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. After all, isn't it more effective to have people want to go from point A to point B instead of to be ordered to go from A to B?The ability to instill "want to" in others, to motivate them, marks the difference between average leaders and great leaders. Character Traits of Extraordinary Leaders When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to follow your leadership, they do it primarily because of one of two things: Your Character or your Skills. They want to know if you are the kind of person they want to follow and if you have the skills to take them further. Transformational Leadership "What is leadership?" When this question is asked most of the people answer "leadership is the capacity or an ability of a person to lead". Earlier theories of leadership viz. 5 Power Keys For Leadership Success! Did you know that you can successfully handle most leadership challenges with just 5 simple strategies? By focusing your attention on these critical areas you can empower your the opportunities hiding within your vision, new venture or project plans.The biggest problem facing people like you is knowing when, what and how to operate your leadership power keys. A Blueprint for Leadership - How to Be a Better Leader If you were to build a house, you would begin with a blueprint. This blueprint proves useful because it contains more than directions on how to build a house.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
