Earlier in this blog, I discussed four disciplines required for leaders of organizations that are on a journey, and which compete in a rapidly changing world. Those disciplines are: Kindness, Careful Listening, an ability to see the Big Picture and truthfulness and Integrity—what we sometimes know as character. These four leadership disciplines nurture healthy organizational cultures in built to change organizations.
In The Death of Character (2000), James Davison Hunter notes that good character, or what we often instinctively experience as the quality of integrity, does not just happen, and it is not something with which we are born. Hunter suggests that character is formed in individuals through environments where intellectual and moral virtues are naturally interwoven within the structure of communities (155).
In this regard, Hunter has in mind organizations like worshipping communities, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, well-led athletic teams, highly successful civic organizations, and for-profit companies that embrace community stewardship as a critical part of their mission.
Leaders for a changing world understand that tending to an organization’s environment is their most important daily function because an organization’s culture forms those who work, play and otherwise contribute to an organization’s mission.
Leaders who practice the disciplines of truthfulness and integrity—what we have called character—tend to build organizational cultures that not only reflect those values, but are highly competitive and successful. But what makes up a leader’s character? Or, alternatively, what character traits are required of leaders who have the responsibility of building healthy organizations?
In a definitive study of theological seminary Presidents, Barbara Wheeler and colleagues identified four character traits in successful leaders of theological schools. This fascinating study is so good because its insights apply to leaders of all organizations that aspire to be adaptive in a rapidly changing environment.
The four character traits Wheeler identifies are: 1) personal strength, which includes powerful intelligence, confidence, persuasiveness, persistence, and an ability to withstand criticism, 2) humility, 3) interpersonal skills, and 4) discipline. After exploring these four character traits in more depth, I will suggest three additional character traits which I believe are required to be a leader of a built to change organization. Those traits are: authenticity, accountability, and an empowerment-oriented spirit.
Good leaders nurture the formation of healthy organizational cultures, and the best of healthy organization cultures are designed to adapt and change while not losing sight of their mission and core values. [bctt tweet=”The best company cultures are designed to adapt & change while not losing sight of their mission & core values.” via=”no”]
In addition to the four leadership disciplines that I have previously described, the best leaders have a set of character traits that sets them—and their organizations—apart from the rest of the field.
