Principles of Character in Leadership

Character and its connection to leadership success is a vital element in managerial and organizational performance. The Principle of Character in Leadership skills is simple and unfeigned stating that doing the ‘right’ things is more important that doing things right. Often people fail to grasp the concept of building their careers on the basis of their strong character; and in hurried decisiveness neglect in establishing themselves as worthy doers. 

Hesselbein (2004) expresses that ‘Leadership is about how to be, not how to do […] it is about character”. Nearly all Leaders with character have been identified as authentic leaders (Fairholm, 1991, 1998; Gardner & Avolio, 1998; Luthans & Avolio, 2003; May, Chan, Hodges, & Avolio, 2003; Price, 2002). The description of an authentic leader consists of their being morally veracious; having a clear vision of their preferred destinations; focused on their goals and beliefs; show substance in their values, ethics and actions; and hone a positive attitude constituting confidence, optimism, resilience in their selves and their associates and command a respect for their dignified disposition (UNL Gallup Leadership Institute, 2004). It is affirmed by May, Chan et al (2003) that “authentic leaders ... see themselves as the ‘moral standard bearer’ for their organizations, demonstrating consistently high standards of ethical conduct.”

Astounding leadership has to have the basis of a strong personal character (Rousseau, 1990; Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt, & Camerer, 1998; Schein, 1985). A show of worthy character also involves the display of the presence of values. Values associated with trust in a work environment. The greater the concern for the employees the more likely it is to attain a reputable position as a trustworthy employer compared to those employers who value self gratification (Whitener, Brodt, Korsgaard, & Werner, 1998, p. 523). The existence of character helps to ameliorate the relationship amongst leadership and personal values.

Successful interpretation of various employment opportunities by an astute leader is possible if the leader exhibits traits like being an organizational representative, who gets things done through others, and has a vision for the organization and demonstrates this vision through his interpersonal strengths, change imperatives and strategic enterprises (Bass & Avolio, 1994; Kotter, 1990, 1998; Rost, 1993).

According to the Greek scholar Aristotle (384-322 B.C) the character explains a person’s past actions and predicts a person’s future behavior (Sherman, 1989). There are competitive and supportive environments to work in that nurture character building (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999; Josephson & Hanson, 1998; Spears, 1998). For example, as an element of character, integrity surfaces when a leader ordinates his actions with his words reinforcing follower’s thoughts of his leadership approach (Simons, 1999). 

The British Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst encourages character as a preliminary component to leadership development (Rowallen, 2002). Research states that leadership is crucial to the social, moral, economic, and political frames of society (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1999; May et al., 2003; Price, 2002). Gavin et al. (2003, p. 171) in their study of world leaders over the past 150 years say that "manager[s] possessing strong character ... will create a better world for everyone." Peterson (2004, p. 11) say that the presence of integrity in an organization’s leader reduces the chance of unethical business practices which harm the workers or the customers.

Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) in their report show that “character as a leadership trait consists of six elements: drive, desire to lead, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, and knowledge of the business”. Similarly, Gergen (2001) suggests that “character, vision, and political capacity are three essential traits of anyone aspiring to be in a leadership position”. Tait's (1996) study in the United Kingdom found that “character consisted of honesty, fairness, compassion, humility, and being one's own person”. The seven virtues, as outlined by Barker and Coy (2003) are “humility, courage, integrity, compassion, humor, passion, and wisdom”. 

The importance of ethically conscious organizations cannot be underestimated; neither can the fact that leaders with a healthy character are essential building blocks for socially responsible and financially prosperous organizations. According to Calabrese and Roberts (2002, p.232), “leaders lacking character create chaos and foster despair.” It is vital that business leaders understand the gravity of their characters, strengths and weaknesses to prevent crisis related to workplace. A leader with prominent character traits can inspire in his employees the desire to function in an honest and healthy social and economic manner. It is a significant means of constructing companies and environments that have ethical and economical advantage over others (Goffee & Jones, 1998).

The growing awareness of Character is not enough to engender a more ethical work methodology. To fully comprehend and cultivate this attribute one has to know the in depth meaning of Character. Barlow, Jordan, and Hendrix (2003, p. 564) define character as “doing the right thing despite outside pressure to the contrary”. Likona (1991) states that character is not necessarily inborn but on the contrary character develops over time progressing in three essential phases. The first phase is ethical awareness and adequate moral knowledge; and the use of this moral knowledge to justly decide the right thing to do. The second is ethical concern regarding one’s course of actions. This aspect constitutes of a person having a “fair conscience, self-esteem, empathy and humility”. The third phase is of taking actions in accordance with the ethical decisions.

From general definitions of it we can deduce that although character is a matter of personal values it has far reaching implications on outward results.

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