Sep

25

A leaders’ character is revealed in everyday situations

Filed Under Character 

Character is one of the key traits of practicing leaders. An article titled “CEOs say how you treat a waiter can predict a lot about character” in USA Today discusses how character is revealed in our every day situations. CEO’s agree that the manner in which people treat waiters reveals a great deal about their character, stating that:

“How others treat the CEO says nothing, they say. But how others treat the waiter is like a magical window into the soul.”

The CEO who first wrote about, what came to be known as the “waiter rule”, is Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson, in his booklet of 33 short leadership observations called Swanson’s “Unwritten Rules of Management“. One of Bill Swanson’s rules are “A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter, or to others, is not a nice person.“, he goes on to say:

“Watch out for people who have a situational value system, who can turn the charm on and off depending on the status of the person they are interacting with….. be especially wary of those who are rude to people perceived to be in subordinate roles.”

The article gives some CEO examples, the one that stood out for me was this one:

Just about every CEO has a waiter story to tell. Dave Gould, CEO of Witness Systems, experienced the rule firsthand when a waitress dumped a full glass of red wine on the expensive suit of another CEO during a contract negotiation. The victim CEO put her at ease with a joke about not having had time to shower that morning. A few days later, when there was an apparent impasse during negotiations, Gould trusted that CEO to have the character to work out any differences.

“Leaders” who have a situational value system undermines trust and therefore, their ability to influence and lead others.

To lead with consistency requires that we live in alignment with our values, goals and actions. The book “Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success” discusses the necessity of “living in alignment“, they emphasize the importance of alignment in three key areas, our moral compass, goals and behaviour, illustrated by the following diagram:

Living in alignment requires that we can answer the following questions:

  • Morale compass: What do you value? What are your most important beliefs?
  • Goals: What do you want to accomplish personally and professionally?
  • Behaviour: What actions will allow you to achieve your goals?

To living in alignment we need to build our own personal view for each of these three frames.

I think that we spend too much time focused on what we are doing, when what we really need to be focused on is who we are becoming…. To live in alignment, to have a strong set of values and to be men and woman of character we need to act from a strong sense of who we are. Failing this we drift, overly influence by what media, resulting in a watered down version of ourselves. Never realising the potential that lives within us, we live by the expectations of others and fail to lead from who we are.

What others have said about character…

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound”. - James Allen

“People of genius are admired. People of wealth are envied. People of power are feared. But only people of character are trusted.” - Arthur Friedman

“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” - Phillips Brooks

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” - Dr. Stephen Covey

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Comments

4 Responses to “A leaders’ character is revealed in everyday situations”

  1. Michelle Neujahr on September 25th, 2006 4:17 PM

    I completely agree. I have always said that you can tell a person’s character by observing them when they don’t think anyone is watching. Character can not be bought - it must be earned. Great leaders know they must first develop themselves before they attempt to develop others.

  2. File Cabinet #3 « Middle Zone Musings on October 6th, 2006 4:02 PM

    [...] A leader’s character is revealed in everyday situations [...]

  3. Middle Zone Musings » File Cabinet #3 on February 28th, 2007 9:17 PM

    [...] A leader’s character is revealed in everyday situations [...]

  4. File Cabinet #3 | Middle Zone Musings on March 7th, 2007 5:52 AM

    [...] A leader’s character is revealed in everyday situations [...]

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