“Leaders live in fish bowl and are always being watched. They should always be conscious of that fact and take advantage of it.” – Gene Klann
A critical path on the journey towards leadership is the development of character. The word character is derived from the Greek word charaktêr, which was originally used of a mark impressed upon a coin. Character is describes today by psychologist Lawrence Pervin as “a disposition to behave expressing itself in consistent patterns of functioning across a range of situations“. The result of character, is the mark that our behaviour leaves on the lives of others.
Behaviour is the expression of our character. It’s the impression, the mark we leave on the lives of others. As leaders character is action and as leaders, we are judged by what we do.
We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and judge others by their behaviour. This belief means that we are often blind to our behaviours, dismissing its impact on others as a mere miss understanding. After all, we understand our intentions and they are for good! However, those who observe our behaviours have no such insight. Leaders who manage their character effectively are acutely aware of this gap and actively seek to manage the impact of their behaviour on others.
Effective leadership requires that we become aware of our behaviours and the impact they have on others. We must become aware of how our behaviour is being interpreted. Having this awareness allows us to improve our character by changing our behaviour. As behaviour is the ultimate expression of our character or lack thereof.
Reflect on the following…
- Are you judging your behaviour by your intentions?
- Are you aware of the impact of your behaviour on others?
Technorati Tags: Character, Leadership, Management, Business, Behaviour, Action, Intention
Related posts:
John Riley
Pablo
uberVU - social c...
Atsu23 (Atsu Sakaki)
Calvin Bacon
Cassandra
Christine Polewar...
dagnabbit_ (auburn)
davidburkus
donna wells
{ 4 trackbacks }
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Well said, the character of a leader drives an organization. The followers wait to see how the leader responds and take his or her lead.
A leader’s behavior definitely has an impact to his employees.I personally think that to positively impact our subordinates, we must look at all probable reasons what makes them low performers.Maybe is time to change those negative attitude and improve leadership style.
Thank you for a great posting. I was getting a little worried. We hadn’t heard anything from you for a while. This is one of the best blogs I subscribe to.
Blessings,
Dave Baldwin
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the comment… I have been very busy rapping up a six month project and could not carve out any time to put together a post!
It’s great to have fans who look forward to the posts.
Best Regards
I like it! We can be what ever we are on the inside, think noble thoughts, go to amazing places… in our minds. But, it is action alone that shows the world who we are. If our action is aligned with our thoughts… that’s powerful. Here’s a synthesis of research that you might like.
In taking action, do so and believe that you can do so in the following ways: demonstrate fairness, give encouragement, nurture, show patience, stay interested in positive growth, provide quality service, contribute in positive ways, demonstrate honesty and integrity, be concerned with excellence, value human dignity, be accepting, be kind and open, show compassion, be gentle, be teachable, be creative, be loving and demonstrate an abundant character, be receptive, be appreciative, be reflective….
George – excellent post. I agree that we all need to be more mindful of our impact on others and how its effects on our character. Nice to see you posting again!
Great post! Executive jobs are demanding, and it can be easy to postpone discussions on how an executive’s character and behavior impacts the organization as a whole. There is a lively discussion over at Fistful of Talent now as to whether HR should be the “ethics police,” as some would suggest. But most agree that isn’t practical and character/ethical behavior must be infused throughout the entire organization, starting at the top.
Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs.
http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2009/03/04/3409-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx
Wally Bock
Very good post! Yes, managing jobs are demanding but there is a lot of competition in this job market and distiguishing between good managers and exceptional leaders is hard. This is there character matters the most !