COVER STORY
calm daily briefings , along with his reassuring presence in the city ’ s Emergency Operations Centre , not only helped Calgary get through the disaster – it defined his reputation as a good leader .
The importance of character Good leadership is a function of competencies , character and commitment to doing the hard work of leadership . But even though it has long been known to be a foundational element of leadership effectiveness , character has traditionally received the least attention in research as well as day-to-day practices . This is an issue because a shortfall in one of the three pillars of good leadership will undermine the others . And that will ultimately lead to performance problems for leaders and their organizations , not to mention all the related stakeholders , including the public interest . At the Ivey Business School , we therefore contend that organizations need to start paying as much attention to character as they do to competencies .
“ A shortfall in one of the three pillars of good leadership will undermine the others .”
At Ivey , our interest in character was sparked by the 2008 financial crisis , which led me to start a research program on leadership and character with my colleagues Mary Crossan and Jeffrey Gandz . In our work with senior leaders from the public , private and not-for-profit sectors , we found – unsurprisingly – that character matters . In fact , we found it matters a lot .
The leaders we talked to in our research had little difficulty concluding that character flaws played a major role in the lead-up to the financial crisis . They talked about how the lack of good character contributed to organizational demise in the not-for-profit sector . They agreed that poor judgment on the part of city leaders had negative affects on the perception of municipal politics . But there was no consistent understanding of what character really meant . This is understandable because character is often loosely defined . But since it is a rather ambiguous concept , character has seldom been used in recruiting , selecting , performance rating , promoting , disciplining or developing current and future leaders .
There are at least three explanations for the significant disconnect between the perceived importance of character and its actual use in organizations . First , character is a “ loaded ” word and , as we found out during our conversations with leaders , it has different meanings to different people . Second , a language or vocabulary with which to address character issues in the workplace is lacking . Leaders told us they need a contemporary , practice-focused vocabulary with which to address character in performance management discussions , leadership development interventions and governance issues . Third , leaders have long lacked the tools needed to move from thinking and talking about character development to actually doing something about it .
Character dimensions Our qualitative ( e . g ., focus groups and interviews ) and quantitative ( e . g ., surveys and longitudinal research designs ) research involving over 2,500 leaders from the public , private and not-for-profit sectors resulted in the identification of 11 character dimensions or virtues . Each of these dimensions consists of a number of behaviors – which we call character elements – that are illustrative of the dimension . The dimensions and elements are an amalgam of virtues , personality traits and values that enable excellence . Virtues refer to situation-appropriate behaviours that are widely seen as representative of good leadership . Some of these virtues are personality traits , such as resiliency and openness , which are relatively stable dispositional variables . And some of the virtues operate as values , such as being equitable or transparency .
Judgment is placed at the centre of the character framework since it plays a critical role in decision-making and subsequent performance . Judgment is the outcome of the application of the character dimensions in situationappropriate ways . For example , the wise leader understands when it is appropriate to foster collaboration and be considerate of other peoples ’ concerns and when it is best to demonstrate initiative and go at it alone ; when to act with determination and confidence and when to be patient and reflective ; and so forth . Since judgment is central in orchestrating and activating the character dimensions as required by the situation , it follows that leaders should be comfortable to express all dimensions – a tall order for most ! Yet we need our leaders to be capable of handling myriad challenges and seizing opportunities when they present themselves .
Each character dimension matters – because of what it contributes to leader behaviour , and because of what happens to leader behaviour if the dimension is missing . Imagine , for example , what happens when leaders with high drive lack temperance – reckless behaviour typically results . Or , consider the outcomes of a candid conversation where the leader lacked empathy and compassion – resentment and a decline in morale are likely outcomes . And , without integrity , accountability will always be suspect . Strength of character resides in our capacity to call upon any dimension of character at any time .
Taking character into account Our research has also found that leaders generally agree that organizations do not do a very good job taking character into account in making decisions about hiring , promotion and succession . For example , a systematic and thorough character assessment during the hiring process is seldom done well . Often it is driven by the absence of negatives rather than a focus on the character dimensions that are thought to be particularly important in a given role . For example , to say , “ I ’ ve heard nothing bad about the applicant ’ s character ,” certainly does not mean the candidate has demonstrated courage , integrity , accountability , temperance or other character dimensions . This begs the question how we can embed leader character into organizations to build excellence .
10 Q4 2016 www . amcto . com