Management Perspectives

More than ever before, our collective fate hinges on the character of those who direct and influence our organisations, that what we call ‘Leader Character’.

Our technologies are racing out ahead of us, faster and more prolifically than ever before—AI, quantum computing, cryptocurrencies, genetic manipulations, and so on. There are new and powerful storms brewing—climate change, geopolitical unrest, commodity shortages, supply-chain failures, and many more—and we expect our major corporations and other organisations to help us ride them out and imagine a better way forward. At the same time, social movements demand effective responses: Environmental Social Governance (ESG), #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and others. And an unforeseen event like the COVID-19 pandemic can arise to present fundamental challenges to society and, as we have witnessed, the habits and structures of the workplace. So how will our society rise to these challenges?

Enter leader character

Leader character is the compass that helps leaders steer us to real, positive, and lasting change. Augmenting character with the word ‘leader’ is more about the ‘disposition to lead’ than occupying a formal position of leadership. It applies not only to senior leaders, but to every person who is in a position to help bring about transformational change. It is about how any individual can bring their best self to their endeavours.

To be effective, leaders need to draw on the three Cs: competence, commitment, and character. All are prerequisites to wise judgments, well-being, and actions, and they are interrelated in subtle and powerful ways. However, while competence and commitment are key, they are both leveraged—for better or worse!—by character.

What is character?

Stated most simply, character is a set of virtues, a few of which are personality traits, and values. Character shapes a number of things, including what we notice in the context in which we operate; how we engage the world around us; what we reinforce through our rewards and punishments; who we engage in conversation and how we conduct those conversations; what we value; how we interpret feedback; what we choose to act on; how we deal with conflict, disappointment, and setbacks; the goals we set for ourselves; how we communicate; and so forth.

Character is a critical missing link in explaining failures at the organisational level. Competencies alone are insufficient for an organisation to achieve its goals, because our ability to develop and employ our competencies is directly connected to our strength of character. To achieve excellence, organisations need to elevate the importance of character alongside competence. Poor decisions, misbehaviours, and even misconduct can be interpreted as a failure of judgment (not just ethics)—and poor judgment can be framed, understood, and described as a weakness in a person’s character. It requires courage, for instance, to challenge a strategy that is already in place, transcendence to envisage a future different from today, humility to accept and apply constructive criticism, and collaboration to move ideas forward.

Character is often confused with, or submerged within, topics like ‘ethics’ and ‘morals’. Those topics are important, but we believe that character provides a far larger and more useful framework. It comprises the whole life of a whole person.

A myth, a misconception, and an objection 

• Character is ‘locked in’ at birth or in childhood, or at some other early developmental stage, and cannot be changed.
• Character cannot be taught, and so it should not be a concern of academia or leadership development.
• Character is a nice-to-have but not really a core concern of hard-nosed business leaders Research and experience show that all of the above are not true. Most significantly, when character is not present, the result is very often personal and professional failure, leading in turn to massive organisational damage. The scandals at Boeing, Theranos, Volkswagen, and Wells Fargo—to cite only a few recent examples, were not failures of competencies, but character.

The Eleven Dimensions of Leader Character

Leader character is defined by a set of interconnected behaviours, shown in the illustration below, that satisfy a set of criteria as being ‘virtuous’. With a defined set of behaviours, the study of character is not simply about understanding individual differences (personality), the skill or capability they bring to a task (competencies), or the way in which they display their leadership (style). Instead, character is about the foundational elements that influence both judgment and well-being.

All of these dimensions interact with and influence each other. Ten of the dimensions contribute to what we consider the central dimension: judgment. Strength across all the dimensions is likely to produce the wisest and best judgments, no matter what specific context you find yourself in. It is also likely to help generate novel, creative, and effective strategies to choose from.

Keep in mind that in excess or deficiency some dimensions are likely to become problematic, i.e., when out of balance, virtues can become vices. Thus, you need to figure out and stay mindful of your imbalances and take steps to correct them. This may entail dialling up a counterbalancing dimension, rather than dialing something back that is in excess. There is no limit to the strength of a dimension once it is supported by the other dimensions.

Embracing Leader Character

No matter how busy you are, you owe it to yourself to take control over how your character is developing by taking a mindful, intelligent, and intentional approach to your life. As your habits change for the better, you too will change for the better—emotionally and even physically. Your brain will work better, you will feel better, and you will feel better about yourself. It is not so much about finding more time in your day to develop your character, but rather transforming your lived moments to both activate and strengthen your character.