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Big Dog's Leadership Page - Character and Traits
by Donald Clark, copyright 1997
Managers are people who do things right, while leaders are people
who do the right thing. - Warren Benniss, Ph.D. "On Becoming a Leader"
Character
Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is
"being all you can be" within the bounds of doing what is right for your
organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of character.
You must do everything you are supposed to do. An organizations will not
achieve excellence by figuring out where it wants want to go, then having
leaders do whatever they have to in order to get the job done, and hope
that along the way those leaders acted with good character. That way is
backwards. Pursuing excellence should not be confused with accomplishing
a job or task. When you do planning, you do it by backwards planning. But
you do not achieve excellence by backwards planning. Excellence starts
with leaders of character who engage in the entire process of leadership.
And the first process is being a person of honorable character.
"Waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." - Marcus
Aurelius
Character develops over time. Many think that much of character is formed
early in life. However, nobody knows exactly how much or how early character
develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly.
A person's observable behavior is an indication of her character. This
behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character
shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve.
She sees what she wants and goes after it. She attracts followers. On the
other hand, a person with weak character shows none of these traits. She
does not know what she wants. Her traits are disorganized, she vacillates
and is inconsistent. She will attract no followers.
A strong person can be good or bad. A gang leader is an example of a
strong person with a bad character, while an outstanding community leader
is one with both strong and good characteristics. An organization needs
leaders with strong and good characteristics, people who will guide them
to the future and show that they can be trusted.
To be an effective leader, your people must have trust in you
and they have to be sold on your vision. Korn-Ferry International, and
executive search company, performed a survey on what organizations want
from their leaders. The respondents said they wanted people who were ethical
and who convey a strong vision of the future. In any organization,
a leader's actions set the pace. This behavior wins trust, loyalty, and
ensures the organization's continued vitality. One of the ways to build
trust is to display a good sense of character. Character is the disposition
of a person, made up of beliefs, values, skills, and traits.
Beliefs are the deep rooted beliefs that a person holds dear. They could
be assumptions or convictions that you hold true regarding people, concepts,
or things. They could be the beliefs that about life, death, religion,
what is good, what is bad, what is human nature, etc.
Values are attitudes about the worth of people, concepts, or things.
For example, you might value a good car, home, friendship, personal comfort,
or relatives. These are import because they influence your behavior to
weigh the importance of alternatives. For example, you might value friends
more than privacy.
Skills are the knowledge and abilities you gain throughout life. The
ability to learn a new skill varies with each individual. Some skills come
almost naturally, while others come only by complete devotion to study
and practice.
Traits
A trait is an distinguishing quality or characteristic of a person, while
character is the sum total of these traits. There are hundreds of personality
traits, far too many to be discussed here. Instead, we will focus on a
few that are crucial for a leader. The more of these you display as a leader,
the more your people will believe and trust in you.
Traits of a leader (Compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom
Peters Group):
-
Honesty - Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions.
Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust in your people.
-
Competent - Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires
or feelings. Your actions should be based on reason and moral principles.
-
Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision
must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what
they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from
their basic values.
-
Inspiring - Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance
in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire your people
to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary.
-
Intelligent - Read, study, and seek challenging assignments.
-
Fair-minded - Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the
enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values,
interests, and well-being of others.
-
Broad-minded - Seek out diversity.
-
Courageous - Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless
of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness
when under stress.
-
Straightforward - Use sound judgment to make a good decision at
the right time.
-
Imaginative - Make timely and appropriate changes in thinking, plans,
and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas,
and solutions to problems.
Notes
Created May 11, 1997. Last update - July 2, 1997.
Return to Big Dog's Leadership Page
Donald R. Clark
donclark@nwlink.com
