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What you do and what you say is not nearly as important as who you are being when you say and do those things. Who you are being; the type of person you are and way you say and do things matters more than the content of what you say or the specific action you take.

It’s your character.

We spent a lot of time spouting our accomplishments, quoting the letters after our name and informing others of our title. Our resume is a chronological list of what we’ve done. We worry if we have the right training and the right experience to do our job. However, telling everyone what we have done, impacts those around us than the demonstration of the type of person we are.

Your character matters.

Research has shown that our character, or perhaps more aptly put, our lack of character is the biggest reason for leadership failure.

  • Leaders without integrity fail to gain the trust of their team.
  • Leaders who have no courage fail to rally those around them to do the risky work.
  • Leaders without the ability to exercise self-control fly off the handle, fall apart emotionally or make snap judgments.
  • Leaders who have little hope and optimism create a doom and gloom environment which isn’t much fun to work in.

Character can make or break us.

Take a moment to consider a leader you admire. What is it that you admire about them? My guess is that it isn’t their title or their accomplishments, but the type of person they were to get there. We admire:

  • A leader who persists despite the odds against them and their team.
  • A leader who demonstrates humility by asking the team for ideas.
  • A leader who is willing to see things from different perspectives.
  • A leader who leads with integrity is brave, honest, passionate, fair, curious or has a good sense of humour.

We admire leaders with strong character.

Despite intrinsically knowing that character counts immensely in leadership, we rarely talk about how to develop it in ourselves and in others. However, your character can be developed. What’s more, you can help those around you to build their character. Focusing on who you are and who you are becoming, developing your character, takes intentional awareness and action.

  • First, you need to understand what character is and why it matters so much. You can learn more by watching The Science of Character. This is an 8-minute documentary that explores the neuroscience and social science that proves that we can shape who we are, and who we want to be in the world.
  • Then, you start by identifying your signature character strengths. Knowing what makes you unique helps you to use your characters strengths more. You can do that by taking the VIA Signature strengths assessment here. It will take you less than 10 minutes.
  • Finally, you need to create a plan for how you will use your signature character strengths more often. Essentially, you start to ask yourself these two questions:
    • Who am I and who am I becoming?
    • How can I be a better version of myself?

You can develop and strengthen your character.

Strengthening and developing your character takes time. It helps to have mentors along with you on the journey! In September as part of the Global Character Day Events, I hosted a series of interviews. These conversations were with women leaders, mentors, coaches, educators and consultants. We talked about what it’s like to cultivate character in “the real world.” If you would like to watch those videos, click here to gain access to them. In the interviews you will:

  • Discover why we need to focus on character development in leadership and why this discussion is particularly critical for women leaders.
  • Find yourself engrossed in a conversation between women as we uncover how to cultivate your character traits so that you can lead with your strength of character.

Let’s start a dialogue about developing leaders with strong character.

By investing in developing your character, you will find that you not only have a more significant impact as a leader but that you will feel happier as well. When we align the way we lead with who we are, allowing our strengths to shine, we are more influential, more impactful and find we are more content with the work we do. Take a moment to ask your self: Who am I and who am I becoming? Then consider how you can develop your character and lead with your strength of character.

Resources for more information:

Kathy Archer is a leadership coach for women who want to strengthen their leadership & find balance in life. She mentors women as they rediscover their purpose, passion, and persistence for life while dealing with office politics, jerk bosses and the challenges of family life. Kathy gives her ladies the hope and inspiration they need along with a kick in the pants to make positive changes in their lives. Discover more in Kathy’s book Mastering Confidence: Discover Your Leadership Potential by Awakening Your Inner Guidance System.