Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing people, and heart. Winning is the result.
—JOE TORRE1
In the Gettysburg Address, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a somber crowd. It was November 19, 1863, just over four months following the bloody battle that cost the lives of 3,150 Northern soldiers, wounded 14,529, and resulted in 5,365 missing or captured troops. Confederate losses were similar. The American Civil War was only half over, and overall victory was not at all certain. Democracy hung in the balance. But in this darkest hour, with the United States facing an existential crisis, Lincoln saw hope. He proclaimed “that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”2
Over a century and a half later, America is facing another existential crisis. This one is not a result of civil war or a military attack by a foreign country, but is the result of a character crisis. A government “of the people, by the people, for the people” is grounded in positive values and character, of its individual citizens and even more important on the part of its leaders. A breakdown of these values leads, as we have seen, to an erosion of trust. An erosion of trust in government and other major social institutions is a precursor to the downfall of a democracy. “Of the people, by the people, for the people” hinges on trust, and without trust democracy cannot be sustained.
Elected leaders from all political parties carry the burden of responsibility for this breakdown of trust. When winning at all costs is what matters, then the elements of national trust—competence, character, and caring—are discarded. It is incumbent on today’s leaders, elected by the people and for the people, to address the character crisis. The United States and many other nations appear fractured politically, resulting in discord instead of discourse. This fuels a perception among many that the government has strayed from the principles of competence, character, and caring. To be clear, this is not a partisan issue and is not unique to a particular administration. This breakdown of trust is manifested at the state and local level as well as the national level. In too many cases, getting elected and reelected seems more important than representing the best interests of the people. Elected leaders of all political parties carry at least some of the burden for the breakdown in trust between the people and their government. Trust lost can be regained. Great leaders focus on the three C’s. Washington, Lincoln, and Mandela won, and they won the right way.
It is not just the government that is failing in character. The other four major social institutions—family, business, education, and religion—are also drifting away from basic human values and strengths of character. We have talked about several of these failures, from colleges and universities that place growth, profit, and winning football games above their missions to educate students, to the Catholic Church, which has failed to police its own sexually predatory priests. Many businesses will do anything to build their profits. There seems to be a breakdown in traditional family values as well. Win and win at any cost seems to be the prevailing ethic.
Foreign entities, most notably Russia, sow social and political discord through social media. Russia’s well-documented efforts to impact the 2016 presidential election are a case in point. So is Russian use of social media to stir anger and discord among individual Americans by creating memes intended to antagonize and disrupt people’s opinions of each other, their government, and their social institutions. But this would not work if Americans trusted their major social institutions. Russia is simply exploiting a current national vulnerability.
On June 16, 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his acceptance speech to delegates at the Illinois Republican convention where he accepted their nomination to run for US senator. In this speech, anticipating the Civil War, Lincoln famously said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”3 We fear that America stands at a tipping point. Without a renewed focus on positive character, distrust in government and the other social institutions may lead to a crumbling of democracy as we know it.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is still time to turn this around. Embracing positive individual and organizational character can turn the tide. Winning—whether it is an election, a game, or making an A on an exam—is not enough. We must learn to win the right way. And winning the right way is character driven.
When the nation puts its Army in harm’s way, it does not expect the Army to look good or do its best. They expect it to accomplish the mission and win. But they do not expect it to win at all costs; they expect it to win “the right way,” meaning to win in accordance with national and Army values. That is, to win with integrity.
The definition of “the right way” has changed over the years, and along with the evolution of what “right” looks like, we have also observed an evolution of the nation’s values on how to conduct combat operations. Near the end of World War II, on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing up to eighty thousand citizens. Three days later it dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another forty thousand Japanese, mostly civilians.4 Before this indiscriminate massacre of civilians, Allied forces in the European theater bombed the city of Dresden, Germany, in February 1945, killing around thirty-five thousand German civilians. This strategy was known as saturation bombing and was designed to destroy morale by using incendiary bombs to kill as many civilians as possible.5
The Allied nations persevered and won World War II, but did the calculated destruction of so many civilians represent “winning the right way”? It is not our intent to argue this question. But can you imagine deliberately killing more than one hundred thousand unarmed civilians as part of today’s military strategy? Killing any civilians whatsoever has potential devastating consequences toward the long-term success of a contemporary military strategy. This is why today’s military operations include stringent rules of engagement that include progressive and measured use of force designed to minimize civilian casualties, and preferably to avoid killing civilians altogether.
Winning the right way is just as important in the civilian world. We have seen how corporations and other organizations that go about their business with values and respect for others prosper over the long run. And we have seen how organizations that fail to incorporate positive values and respect for others suffer over the long run. At the individual level, the same principle applies. Yes, a person can lie or cheat and occasionally succeed, but over the long haul a significant price will be paid for this approach to life.
Thomas Jefferson proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”6 We add to this the idea that character and winning the right way is not just an American principle. The twenty-four character strengths we have focused on in The Character Edge are thought to be universal among humans. The ideas in this book apply to everyone, regardless of culture or nationality.
Winning the right way has been discussed throughout this book. Here are some significant takeaways.
Suffolk University law professor Lisle Baker welcomes three hundred new law students each fall term. Law students are admitted mostly on the basis of aptitude, assessed by a combination of undergraduate academic performance and scores on the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT. Baker became interested in positive psychology and completed a master of arts in applied positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. In his many years as a law professor, Baker has concluded that aptitude measures, while useful in admitting students with the intelligence to complete their course of study, are insufficient in predicting who will flourish in the profession of law.
Baker sees the other crucial ingredient to success in law as character. He invokes The Wizard of Oz to describe the necessary ingredients: aspiring lawyers need brains (the Scarecrow), a heart (the Tin Man), and courage (the Cowardly Lion).7 We agree, and Baker’s clever classification maps perfectly to our discussion of strengths of the head, heart, and gut. All of these tools are needed to solve difficult problems, rebound from failures, and form meaningful relationships with others. We discussed the strengths as composing a toolbox from which people may select the tool best suited to any situation. Not every problem can be solved with grit, just as not all jobs can be completed with a hammer.
We learned that courage—both moral and physical courage—is an important aspect of character. Captain Barry Bridger, an Air Force pilot who was shot down and captured during the Vietnam War, demonstrated both moral and physical courage in abundance during his lengthy incarceration in the Hanoi Hilton. General Caslen visited the Hanoi Hilton more than forty-five years after Bridger was released and reunited with his family. Looking at the conditions these American prisoners lived under gives a renewed respect and admiration for their grit, courage, and character. It is said that the true test of one’s character occurs not when things are going well in life, but when the worst happens and often when it is least expected. Bridger demonstrated true strength of the gut in persevering through repeated torture, disillusionment, and inhumane living conditions when hope was forlorn. Yet through all of this he remained loyal to his nation, his family, his colleagues, and himself, refusing to compromise the values he was raised with, and the values he was taught in service to his country. Bridger defines character as “the courage to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons and is determined by what you value about life, about living, about being. Your deeply held beliefs, therefore, define who you are and how you are likely to behave.”8
Where do men and women find the character to persevere under such horrific conditions? Bridger—and Brendan Marrocco and Rhonda Cornum, whose stories of combat we shared in earlier chapters—would tell you that they were grounded in a set of values that could never be compromised. These core values guided them through the worst conditions imaginable.
Character traits of the gut are vital to successful competition, on playing fields and battlefields. The transformation of the Army football team is an example. Playing with mediocrity, making mistakes, and not having the relentlessness and toughness to persevere resulted in an average-at-best performance that plagued this team for many years. Discipline, toughness, tenacity, relentlessness, and laying it on the line—all character strengths of the gut—allow a team to compete until the last whistle blows. Those were the character traits needed to transform Army football from a losing team to a top twenty-five national powerhouse. And it is also what America expects of its Army when it puts soldiers in harm’s way with boots on the ground in the crucible of combat.
While superintendent of West Point, General Caslen was under public pressure to eliminate mandatory boxing from the West Point curriculum, mostly because of the risk of head injury to the cadets taking the course. Despite the pressure, Caslen elected not to. Instead, Caslen retained boxing because it was the only activity that pits one cadet against another in full body conflict, and it teaches cadets how to face fear and to overcome it, which is an important attribute for those who lead soldiers in combat. But West Point did not dismiss the risks of head injury. While still maintaining the program because of its intended purpose, West Point put a lot of effort into safe equipment, processes, and procedures to minimize the risk of head injury, and saw considerable reductions as a result.
Discipline, toughness, tenacity, and relentlessness are not just the purview of the military. Success in school, business, and sports requires the same attributes. Fail an exam? Study more and try again. Lost the game? Practice harder. Sales floundering? Same advice. Strengths of the gut are essential to winning. But they are not enough.
In one of the most volatile and hostile environments during the surge in Operation Iraqi Freedom, a tough battalion commander demonstrated great intellectual agility in bringing stability and progress to a key province in Iraq. Rather than fighting his way to stability, this commander recognized how to get a dilapidated tomato-paste factory up and running again, knowing it would draw young men back onto the farmlands. With the backing of the local government this commander restored essential services and instilled trust between coalition forces and the local population. With the character traits of open-mindedness and creativity, Lieutenant Colonel Dave Hodne showed great perspective and wisdom dealing with some of the most complex problems in that environment.
Likewise, former secretary of veterans affairs Bob McDonald demonstrated incredible intellectual character in transforming the culture of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Embracing a set of values (articulated in “What I Believe In”),9 he stressed these values throughout his tenure with the VA. In establishing a strong leader-development program, he changed the organization, making a huge difference in its commitment and obligation to care for veterans.
Strengths of the gut energize us to tackle the challenges of life. But strengths of the head allow us to do so in smart, effective ways. Grit, determination, and courage will take you a long way, but curiosity, creativity, and love of learning allow you to win the right way. Whether in the corporate world, higher education, the military, collegiate or professional sports, or any other complex environment, strengths of the head are critical to success. Those who are strong in the virtues of wisdom and knowledge thrive and flourish.
Sharing hardships in dire circumstances builds bonds of loyalty that are difficult to break. Many of today’s veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, having experienced some of the worst physical and mental conditions imaginable, experience difficult readjustments when they leave the bonds of their warrior brothers and sisters and try to readapt to a civilian environment. In combat, these bonds of loyalty enabled the soldier to endure hardships. But when no longer part of a team, the veteran often finds him- or herself challenged to persevere through difficult times. The unfortunate consequence for too many of these veterans is suicide. To better understand this dynamic, it is worth looking at what created this loyalty, and the character traits that define these bonds.
William Shakespeare captured the importance of these bonds in his play Henry V. Henry V stood in front of the undermanned British army as the soldiers prepared to face the heavily favored French army and proclaimed, “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.” This speech captures a timeless message. It illustrates the character traits of the warrior heart—camaraderie, love, compassion, loyalty, and commitment—forged from shared hardships over many days and many trials and challenges.
Strengths of the heart make life worth living. You can be the grittiest person and most courageous person in your organization, but without kindness and the capacity to love, you will not meet your full potential. Strengths of the heart give you an edge in the workplace, but even more important, they allow you to have fulfilling and meaningful relationships with family members, coworkers, and friends. We have illustrated this with examples from the battlefield, but strengths of the heart matter in all human endeavors.
The most important ingredient to effective leadership is trust. Trust is 360 degrees. It must exist between a person and his or her superiors and subordinates and among peers. We assert that trust is a function of one’s competence, character, and caring. If you are in charge and don’t know what you’re doing (i.e., you’re incompetent), it will be hard for anyone to want to follow you. Likewise, if you are my boss and your values and behavior make me question your integrity, how can I ever trust the orders you give me? And if you could not care less about my development, and my challenges and successes, and see me only as a pawn in your “empire,” then why would I want to follow you?
We have seen this trust relationship numerous times in both great and not-so-great leaders. The Gettysburg battle is full of great leadership examples, with no better example of the trust between soldiers and their commander than that of the Minnesota regiment and its commander, Colonel William Colvill. When ordered to attack into the heart of the Confederate line, knowing it meant the certain death of most of his men, Colvill obeyed the order. His men carried out the assault without hesitation, despite recognizing the likely deadly outcome. Only a disciplined unit with incredible loyalty and trust could have followed that order. Despite the circumstances, the unit executed the attack perfectly and accomplished their mission. Losses were indeed heavy, but these sacrifices paved the way for the eventual Union victory.
Likewise, when Colonel Joshua Chamberlain was holding the leftmost flank of the Union Army after being repeatedly attacked, only to finally run out of ammunition, he ordered his men not to defend (as they had on the numerous previous attacks), but to “fix bayonets” and assault down the hill against the regrouping and still-supplied Confederates. Only a unit with leadership that the men unequivocally trusted could have accomplished that mission on that fateful day. Chamberlain, a highly respected and trusted commander, knew that the trust of his men would result in a successful bayonet charge against the enemy.
Doesn’t this play out the same way in your organization? Your life probably doesn’t depend on the bond of trust, but your performance and sense of well-being probably do. Effective teachers are competent, display positive character, and care deeply for their students. Students respond with hard work and devotion. It is no different in any workplace. Managers who are competent, are of high character, and care about their employees inspire great loyalty from their workers. Dr. Matthews once observed a custodian in West Point’s Thayer Hall walking along a hallway crying. He asked her what was the matter, and she told him she was retiring at the end of the day, truly loved the people she worked with, and would miss them greatly. Would she have felt these emotions so keenly if her boss was incompetent, dishonest, or uncaring?
Effective organizations know that leaders must create a positive organizational climate that engenders trust among all of its members. One of the most effective ways leaders earn trust is by underwriting the risk of mistakes made by their subordinates. A trusted leader creates the conditions that enable subordinates to expand out of their comfort zone. This allows followers to realize their full potential. When you are in unfamiliar areas, you may make mistakes. By underwriting the risk of failure, the leader provides an opportunity to learn and improve. Leaders who are uncomfortable doing so will often harass and embarrass subordinates who make mistakes. Thus the subordinates fail to exercise initiative and only do what they are told, nothing more or less. No one wants to work in that environment. Organizations do not win under these conditions, and if there is any success, it certainly is not “winning the right way.” When the boss underwrites the risk of failure, how far the organization may grow and improve is unlimited.
It is not only important to lead with character. A leader must also find ways to instill character throughout his or her organization. The leader must exemplify positive character him- or herself. Once you model character, how do you drive it throughout the organization? We have spotlighted several organizations with leaders who created a culture of positive character and the difference it made. It is worth highlighting their best practices.
Johnson & Johnson provides a stellar example of a character-based organization. Its CEO, Alex Gorsky, knows that trust is the essential element between his organization and its clients, and between Johnson & Johnson’s leadership and its employees. This approach has been a core tenet since the company was founded. Recognizing the importance of character to the company, Robert Wood Johnson II created a Credo that explicitly and publicly states the company’s organizational values. The Credo was designed to infuse positive character and values throughout the organization. Gorsky continues this emphasis today, making a discussion of company values a part of the agenda of every meeting. He requires leadership assessments based on the principles expressed by the Credo. If you want to see how character is driven within the culture of a Fortune 500 company, look no further than what Alex Gorsky is doing at Johnson & Johnson.
If you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you’re going to be dealing with good and bad news every day. Johnson & Johnson dealt with this during the Tylenol crisis in 1982 that resulted in seven deaths and substantial financial loss. Alex Gorsky explained how Johnson & Johnson handled that: “Nothing is more important than not compromising your integrity to the people who trust and depend on you.” The leadership in 1982 immediately took responsibility of the crisis and creatively developed measures to prevent product tampering. This led to the restoration of trust with customers and employees. A company of integrity exercises values-based leadership when a crisis like this unexpectedly arrives at its front door.
Recent events underscore the importance of Johnson & Johnson’s Credo. The company now faces a new crisis. The company markets the painkiller fentanyl, a drug designed to treat severe pain that is now part of the nationwide opioid crisis. Opioid overdose deaths are at a near epidemic level in some parts of the United States, and a host of lawsuits have been brought against manufacturers and distributors of the drugs. In Oklahoma, a court found Johnson & Johnson responsible for overdose deaths and fined it more than a half billion dollars.10 Similar lawsuits are pending in other states. The ultimate financial cost to Johnson & Johnson may be crippling. How will Johnson & Johnson respond? Ultimately, Gorsky’s response must be based on the Credo. To survive, the company must demonstrate competence, character, and caring.
Another example of caring leadership by an organization’s CEO was shown by Dr. Deb German when her hospital leadership required her to cut her workforce by 10 percent. Dr. German was loved and respected by her employees. She genuinely knew their needs because she spent quality time with them on their turf listening to their challenges. Dr. German knew that by trusting her employees, she could address the hospital’s financial crisis without firing a single individual. She did just this simply by going back to the people who had made a difference in her hospital all along—the employees. Harnessing the intellectual capacity of her workforce, she shared the challenge and solicited creative ideas and solutions that the employees themselves would implement. And solve this problem they did. Only a caring, compassionate leader who knew the strengths of her employees could accomplish this.
These are great examples of leaders who cultivate character throughout their organizations. This is winning at the institutional level, and it is winning the right way.
We have shown that character can be developed if the values of positive character are internalized. They must become part of one’s essence, so that when facing a compromising situation, one does not have to think about what is right or not. The response must be reflexive, based on internalized values consistent with the organization’s ethic. The West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS) provides us a model for how organizations may develop character among their members.
You will note that WPLDS is not called the West Point Character Development System, but rather the West Point Leader Development System, because character is the most important element of effective and successful leadership. West Point’s mission statement declares that its mission is to “educate, train and inspire leaders of character.” Leadership is developed across four pillars—academic, military, physical, and character. But the mission statement does not say the institution will educate, train, and inspire leaders of “academic excellence” or “military competence,” but rather it says “leaders of character.” Building leaders of character is the most important thing West Point does.
The West Point Leader Development System is quite simple. Immersed in an environment of intense academic, military, and physical programs, cadets are placed in leadership and follower roles. Cadets are required to meet the academy’s high standards in each of these programs in a manner that embraces West Point’s values of duty, honor, and country, as well as the Army’s values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. As discussed in chapter 8, WPLDS has a set of defined outcomes around the expected behaviors of living and leading honorably and demonstrating excellence.
Notice that the D in WPLDS stands for “development,” meaning that the internalization of values progresses and gets stronger over time. One of the more challenging aspects of West Point’s leadership program is the idea that new cadets may arrive at West Point in need of character development. Because the Army requires high standards and uncompromising ethical values, how does West Point treat its cadets when those standards are not met, or when a breach occurs in the ethical values that are so important to building trust?
People learn from their mistakes, and organizations that are good at promoting character growth understand this and use these mistakes as the launching pad for positive development. Each mistake is an opportunity to learn and get better. We like the metaphor of a broken bone. If you break a bone and it heals correctly, the bone is stronger than it was before the break. Likewise, if someone fails in character and is given the opportunity to reflect upon that failure with the aid of a mentor, that person can become stronger in character than before the defect.
Mentorship is essential to character development. It is hard to grow without it. Mentorship provides the opportunity for reflection and introspection guided by someone who lives and shares the proper values and has the experience to articulate their worth. This sets the occasion for genuine and lasting character development and associated behavioral change.
A wonderful proverb says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”11 A piece of iron to be sharpened is placed in intense fire and heated to a temperature that allows it to be bent and molded. Similarly, what is critical to our character development is our response when we find ourselves in a firestorm. The strength of your character is displayed not when life is going smoothly, but in the midst of adversity. No one likes to be there, but “as iron sharpens iron,” adversity presents an opportunity to sharpen our character.
However, adversity does not always produce growth. Whether you grow, remain unchanged, are resilient, or experience disorder depends upon your character. Growth is supported by successfully dealing with adversity while taking advantage of a number of factors, including strengths of the gut, head, and heart. A big part of winning the right way is learning that you can experience adversity and not be overwhelmed by it. Developing the mindset that adversity breeds growth is essential to the winning spirit. Take some time and look for quotes from famous athletes about winning. Almost all of them point to losing as a gateway to learning how to win.
As a cornerstone to the character development of the Corps of Cadets, the West Point honor code says, “A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.” Although the cadets are generally on board with not lying, cheating, or stealing, they struggle to understand why it is so important to not tolerate the transgression of a fellow cadet when they observe it.
The answer is simple. Leaders of character are driven by excellence, competence, caring, and their commitment to their profession. These attributes build trust between leaders and subordinates, leaders and their superiors, and leaders and their clients. To build and sustain trust, leaders must be the stewards of their profession. They must not only set standards; they must enforce them.
When a member of an organization violates its standards and values, this not only results in condemnation of the individual but also dishonors the reputation of the organization and creates mistrust by its client. This is unacceptable and creates a vicious cycle where tolerated misbehavior is implicitly condoned and enables future misconduct. We saw this in the example of the West Point rugby team.
If the errant behavior is identified and immediately corrected, the embarrassment brought upon the organization and the mistrust it created will have been avoided. High-quality organizations recognize the importance of self-policing. It is a core element of winning the right way.
A challenge an organization’s leader may face is a dynamic called ethical fading. Ethical fading is a deterioration or corrosion of ethical standards over time. When unethical behavior occurs and goes unchecked by leadership or others, it can become a new standard practice, and over time it is no longer seen as wrong. Employees are watching what is happening, secretly hoping leaders will act and restore behavioral standards. When they don’t, ethics fade, a new values standard is set in place, and unacceptable behavior slowly creeps into the organization.
We have all seen this in one form or another. In the late twentieth century, New York City was overwhelmed with street crime. Murder rates were at record levels. Times Square was not a place one felt safe to walk. The police were overworked and could barely keep up with investigating the major crimes of robbery, burglary, stealing, assault, rape, and murder. In 1994 William Bratton was appointed commissioner of the New York Police Department, and reducing street crime was one of his highest priorities. A police prodigy, Bratton had begun his law enforcement career in Boston in 1970, rising to several leadership positions, including commissioner. To address New York City’s crime problem, Bratton turned to what is popularly referred to as “broken windows” policing, an approach championed by criminologists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling. This approach, controversial to some, involved strict enforcement of highly visible but minor crimes, such as public intoxication, vandalism, and fare evasion—offenses that, while not especially dangerous, detracted from quality of life in a city. Surprisingly, the broken window approach was followed by a substantial reduction not just in petty crimes, but in major crimes such as murder as well. In 1994, when Bratton initiated the broken-windows policing strategy, the city recorded 1,561 murders. By 2001, New York reported just 649 murders. By June 2019, New York City was on pace to record its lowest number of murders since the 1950s.12
Bratton’s broken-windows approach to reducing crime was based on the concept that attending to small violations would prevent larger ones from occurring. Ethical fading is similar. The organization that tolerates small ethical transgressions may soon find itself awash in a major controversy or crisis. Organizations that win the right way attack the small stuff and in doing so prevent more catastrophic failures. As Booker T. Washington said, “Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the everyday things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”13
It is better to prevent character failure than to deal with its personal and organizational consequences. An untarnished personal or organizational reputation is priceless. The Character Risk Model provides a basis for avoiding character failure, both for individuals and for organizations.
At the personal level, recognizing personality traits that often lead to character failure allows individuals to self-monitor their actions, and for leaders to be on the lookout for such individuals within their organizations. We have emphasized that character can and should be developed, wherever possible, and recognizing these warning flags may be of immense utility in knowing where to direct these developmental efforts. In some cases, such as the dark triad, removal from the organization may be the best tactic. Unfortunately, people who are narcissistic, Machiavellian, or psychopathic often lack self-insight. For the good of the organization, they are best removed. Those with lesser flaws, such as hubris, may benefit from self-imposed or management-driven developmental efforts.
Environmental threats contribute to character failure. Leaders may take steps to mitigate these potholes, whether it is an army platoon leader ensuring that her soldiers are well rested, or a corporate manager crafting a positive organizational climate to reduce stress. Good organizations expend a lot of time and money to foster positive conditions. Doing so may prevent some individuals from making character-based errors.
At the social level, individuals should cultivate strong and supportive relationships with their families, friends, and coworkers. These strong social bonds are a major protection against character failure and help individuals respond to stress and adversity with a resilient or growth trajectory, rather than slipping into pathology. Leaders can help here, too, by providing opportunities for employees to bond together. Coach Popovich’s team dinners are a great example.
At the organizational level, being aware of the threats to organizational values and of ethical fading are critical. Every senior manager should take to heart and take great pains in avoiding the Deloitte Center’s eight drivers of misconduct. These drivers of misconduct, if left unchecked, are the seedbed of ethical fading. Whether it is a university focusing on new buildings over the primary mission of educational excellence or a win-at-all-costs mentality, successful organizations must be vigilant in avoiding these potholes. When things are not right, it is critical to recognize this and take appropriate action. Doing so reinforces and maintains institutional values and sends an important message to the organization on what is acceptable and what is not.
It is virtually impossible today to separate your public life from your personal life. Leaders of character must show the same character in both. This has been one of our most consistent themes. You can’t adhere to one set of personal standards at work and a lesser standard in your private life, especially given the ubiquity of social media. Try this little experiment. Do an internet search using the phrase resigned because of past tweets. You will be amazed at the number of famous and not-so-famous people who post thoughts online that are incongruent with the values of their institution. This relates to General Martin Dempsey’s concept of the digital echo. Once something is posted on social media, such comments live forever and have led to the firing or resignation of countless individuals from businesses, universities, churches, and other organizations. Who would want to be led by such people?
Men and women of character will seek facts, identify what is true, and place their trust accordingly. They make sure that their private lives and thoughts align with their public lives and thoughts. They avoid the temptation to side with the majority without a critical analysis. Winning the right way must be based on facts, not the emotionally charged images and baseless assertions, rampant in social media today.
There is a character crisis in America. The Character Edge is a step toward providing people with a better understanding of character, trust, and leadership. Our book is a guide toward strengthening leadership skills that lead to lasting success. It is also a passionate call to arms for individuals and organizations to pay more attention to character. Understanding character is a necessary first step to improving it. We want the importance of character to become embedded in the national consciousness—a goal that each of us should demand of ourselves and of our leadership at every level.
As we wrap up this chapter and this book, we want to leave you with the idea that winning the right way is what matters. Regardless of what you’re leading, winning the right way starts with you and your character. We are impressed by organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, West Point, and many others that have publicly stated personal and organizational values. So, we leave you with a personal creed for you to consider as well. This creed is inspired by Johnson & Johnson’s Credo and the creed of the West Point Corps of Cadets. Whether you like this creed or another, we encourage you to find one that defines the values and behavior to which you aspire. Read it and internalize it and post it where you can read and refresh these values often.
MY PERSONAL CREED
As a leader of my organization, I am first committed to our clients and customers, to provide them a high-quality, reasonably priced product that is safe and secure, and that is the best in the market.
My next responsibility is to our employees, who work with us throughout our entire organization. All are valued members, who will work in a safe and secure environment and will find fulfillment in their jobs. I will ensure their work environment is supportive to their imagination, creativity, innovation, and growth. I will empower and develop them to the limits of their potential, ensure that they have great opportunities for advancement and satisfaction, and ensure their compensation is competitive with the best in the nation. I am committed to their development as lifelong employees and future leaders of our organization.
My organization is emboldened by the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal moral courage. These are the values that I embrace and that drive everything I do, both with my organization and in my life. I am a man or woman of great integrity, who will live a private life with the same values I will live in my public life. I will live these values not only at work, but also at home and in everything I do.
I am responsible to be a strong partner within my community, supporting my local government and my local organizations, and ensuring I am a good citizen who supports good works and charities, and my fair share of taxes. I will be a good steward of the environment I am privileged to use.
I will serve our clients and our customers, maintaining the honor of our organization, living above the common level of life, and having the courage to choose the harder right over the easier wrong. I will live both my public life and my private life with honor and integrity.
I am a member of an organization of excellence and will pursue excellence in our product, in our customers, in our employees, and in all we do.
We opened this book by posing the question of what you want the hyphen on your tombstone to represent. What do educational, professional, and personal achievements mean in the absence of positive character? We hope you have learned more about the broad scope of positive character. Character is fundamental to trust, and trust is the bedrock of leadership. Great individuals know this and consciously and deliberately center their lives around the strengths of the head, heart, and gut. These strengths become the personal body armor needed to face life’s challenges and to not just prevail, but to flourish. Great organizations also know this and make positive character a number one priority for themselves. In short, positive character provides individuals and organizations with the edge they need to win and to win the right way. Start today making positive character the hallmark of your epitaph.