my character counts

What is character?

What makes character important?

Where do you find character?

How do you build a lasting character?

Posner and Kouzes the authors of “The Leadership Challenge” surveyed thousands of business and government executives to see what they thought were the most important ‘characteristics’ for a leader.

1.    Honesty

2.    Vision – forward looking

3.    Inspiring

4.    Competent

5.    Fair-minded

6.    Supportive

7.    Broad-minded

8.    Intelligent

9.    Straightforward

10.  Dependable

 

Honesty ranks as the number one character trait that matters more than any other trait.  How important do you think honesty is in America today?   Do the top leaders act with impeccable honesty?   Do leaders in the middle support and make honesty their #1 objective?

The honesty dilemma.   Most people would say that being honest is the right thing to do, and at the same time have difficulty executing with honesty during the day.  Why is that?

Is there some type of fear that is associated with being honest?   What is it?   Is it a cultural issue?   Is it habit or bad habits that trap us in a web of twists and turns that take truth and mold it to fit in a better way the story we want to be told.

How important is it for a leader to be honest?   How important is it for everyone to be honest?

Integrity – why is it so difficult?

A critical leadership trait is integrity.   The word integrity comes from the Latin ‘Integritas’ which meant soundness.    Going back in history to the height of the Roman armies the story goes that the soldiers would put on their leather armor and then would strike with their fist shouting ‘Integritas’ when they did.  The sound of good solid leather was filled with integrity.   Overtime the ritual became less important and as a result the Roman Army lost their integrity (‘Integritas’) – their soundness and began to lose their battles.

Leaders in today’s world also have to be filled with sound principles, sound action, sound reasoning and morally correct reasoning.  Leaders need to be filled with integrity.   The difficult today as it was with the Roman Army maintaining integrity is difficult when forces all around the leader attempt to reduce or remove integrity.   When personal gain is at stake we too often seen leaders crumble and their integrity melt.  As Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” 

Leaders need to remain humble even as their power (assumed or otherwise) rises to ensure that their integrity is not compromised, once lost it is difficult to regain.

 

 

 

Qualities of Leadership

This will begin a series of short posts about the qualities of a leader.  Granted it is not part of a coaching model but leadership and coaching have close ties in many areas.   Jump on board and explore the qualities.

 

In 1948 General Omar Bradley defined leadership as “the art of influencing human behavior through ability to directly influence people and direct them toward a specific goal.”   What I wanted to point out in the definition is that there are similarities between coaching and leadership as defined here. 

In the world of coaching the coachee defines the path and the coach holds the coachee accountable to the goals.  Bradley’s definition of leadership is other-directed (leader to follower) and in the world of the coach it is self-directed with the coach helping to ensure integrity in the process.

Elevate your skills, elevate who you are ….

Weather

“Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance – the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it better, will preserve it longer, than the sad or sullen”  Thomas Caryle

 

-          Just a bit under the weather – will resume posting shortly.

face fear

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

 

-          What fears have you faced and overcome?

-          What have you learned when you confronted your fears?

-          What can you do the next time you face a fear?

my words

What are you telling yourself right now?

 

Are the words that you are speaking to yourself filled with hope and a better future?

 

Think about the words you use yourself – are they positive or negative?

 

You are better than you give yourself credit for.  

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

- John Wooden

you are

You are awesomely unique

You are absolutely talented

You are on purpose

 

Van Gogh wrote, “I dream my painting  and then I paint my dream”

What are you going to put on your canvas?

Harmony of self

-          When things just click

-          When there is full engagement

-          When the energy is fully spent and it feels good

-          When there is absolute focus

-          When there is connection between self and action

 

When do you encounter life?  When there is harmony of self.

“How simple it is to see that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. How simple it is to see that we can only be happy now. And that there will never be a time when it is not now.” — Gerald Jampolsky

 

 

 

encouragement inside

“A lifestyle is what you pay for; a life is what pays you.” — Thomas Leonard

“The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.”  Zig Ziglar

“I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.” — Maya Angelou

“Let’s be grateful for those who give us happiness; they are the charming gardeners who make our soul bloom.” Marcel Proust