GROWING STRONG CHARACTER FOR LEADERSHIP
By Dr. Denny CoatesWe admire and rely on people who we believe have strong character. These are individuals who are willing to tackle tough problems and rather than acting in self-interest, they contribute to the greater good. We know what kind of people they are because of what they do. They do the hard things, the right things. So we trust them and respect them. We willingly follow them.
“Character strength consists of dozens of related behavior patterns.”
But there are common misperceptions about character strength. First, many people see character strength as a single trait, implying that there is an innate goodness about leaders, an aspect of them that we admire when we see it in action. In fact, character strength exists only when manifested in behavior. For example, we know that a person is honest only if we’ve witnessed them telling the truth, even if it’s a hard truth. Of course, strong character is about a lot more than honesty. It’s about dozens of behavior patterns that we identify as aspects of character strength.
Character strength isn’t a single characteristic. In fact, there are dozens of behavior patterns that are related to strong character. I have organized them into three areas of skill:
- Building a strong self
- Building strong relationships
- Building a strong work ethic
Building a Strong Self
Every adult knows that life is full of challenges. Sometimes you can see them coming, others surprise you—every day, every week, throughout a lifetime. Knowledge, skill, and experience are powerful resources for dealing with these issues. But without character strength, which allows you to bring your best self to challenging situations, life can be difficult and disappointing.
People who lack the strength to deal with the inevitable adversities can be beaten down by life. Burdened by failure, loss, despair, and even addiction, a precious life can become miserable. These behavior patterns enable you to attack a variety of situations:
- Self-awareness
- Self-development
- Self-discipline
- Self-confidence
- Self-esteem
- Humility
- Optimism
- Resilience
- Rationality
- Courage
- Composure
- Patience
Building Strong Relationships
Being strong for what life will require of us includes being strong to nurture our relationships. We have a deeply ingrained need for human relationships, and very little gets done in life without working well with others. But every person is unique, and establishing mutually rewarding relationships takes work. These 12 character skills are particularly important for managing relationships:
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Appreciation
- Forgiveness
- Empathy
- Compassion
- Generosity
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Trust
- Cooperation
- Service
Building a Strong Work Ethic
Hard workers don’t put things off or quit when the going gets tough. They come in early and stay late to make sure important tasks are finished. Simply put, they make the needed effort and get things done. While employers love to hire and promote them, not everyone has this kind of work ethic, which is more about having the character strengths that matter for work than about being smart. These behavior patterns are highly valued in the workplace:
- Commitment
- Responsibility
- Accountability
- Initiative
- Creativity
- Proactivity
- Decisiveness
- Perseverance
- Effort
- Excellence
- Open-mindedness
- Flexibility
Any of the behavior patterns related to character strength can be established or made stronger by repeating them in your life and work. In this way, it’s possible to consciously build your character strength.
The first step is to learn more about the behaviors related to strong character. The most effective approach is to identify a single behavior pattern that you’d like to improve. For example, if you think you’re easily distracted, you might learn more about what’s involved in self-discipline and then focus on practicing discipline behaviors in your everyday behavior.
Like working on any skill, strengthening a behavior pattern requires more than knowing what to do. It takes lots of doing—many repetitions over time, in your life or during the course of work, to establish the kind of automatic behavior pattern that will consistently serve you.
Clearly, character strength is a multifaceted aspect of a person’s potential. As you become interested in this area of self-development, I’ve written a how-to book, Grow Strong Character, to be your guide.
Grow Strong Character
Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D.