Astounding Language

“Character is much easier kept than recovered.” - Thomas Paine

“The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats
people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people
who can’t fight back.”

- Abigail van Buren

“Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent.
Most talents are to some extent a gift. Good character, by
contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by
piece…by thought, choice, courage, and determination.”

- John Luther Long

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Here is a simple tip for aspiring leaders - It is far better to
have character than to be one.

I once heard Bob McEwen (former Congressman from Ohio) define
character as the combination of morality and integrity.
According to his definition, morality is not doing the wrong
thing while integrity is having the strength to do the right
thing.

Based on this definition, character is not something you just
have. You must work to build character every day. It is
something that develops over time, but is destroyed in a moment.

Why, as a leader, is character a big deal?

Without even considering the moral and legal implications of
character lapses, just look at the impact on your organization.
As John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on
leadership.” By this standard, your personal character will
become the character of your organization. Consider these facts:

- 58% of workers surveyed indicated that employee fraud would
decrease if managers (company leaders) were better role models
(Oct 2002, Ernst & Young, “The CPA Letter”)

- 80% of people surveyed indicated that they decide to buy a
firm’s goods or services partly on their perception of its
ethics (2003, Wirthlin Worldwide)

- Unethical behavior leads to more sabotaging behavior in the
workplace, such as:

o Under delivering on commitments

o Over promising to win a customer or gain support for a project

o Wasting time and energy guarding turf

o Lowering goals to avoid failure rather than striving for
excellence

o Padding the budget to look better

o Fudging results to stay competitive

o Hiding facts

o Skipping over details

o Withholding praise from others

o Hogging credit

o Shifting or buffering blame

o Looking for scapegoats

(Case Western Reserve University, Online Ethics Center for
Engineering and Science)

As you can see from the results of these studies, the character
of the leader affects not only the behavior of the organization,
but its results as well. I do not know all the details of the
Enron or MCI WorldCom scandals, but I do know that the fallout
hurt the companies and their employees. These examples are
extreme cases of character failures, but many smaller ones
happen in business and organizational life every day.

As usual, I have a story to relate to illustrate my point. One
time I hired a man to work in a department I managed. During the
hiring process, I realized that a woman in the department,
working in the same capacity, was significantly underpaid
compared to both industry standards and the starting salary of
the man we were hiring. I immediately went to my supervisor and
attempted to negotiate a resolution plan. In response to my
request to adjust her salary he asked, “Does she know that he
will be making more than her?” This perspective floored me. It
seems that her knowledge of the situation, rather than a
determination of whether it was right or wrong, was the deciding
factor on whether it should be addressed or not. At that moment,
I remembered a statement I had heard long before: “Character is
what you do when no one is watching.”

Unfortunately, I was unable to persuade my supervisor to take
action in this case. This response severely damaged my trust and
respect for both the person and the organization. I eventually
left the organization for other reasons, but in retrospect, I
probably should have left sooner. When it comes to character,
leaders simply cannot compromise.

You can staff your organization to compensate for skill and
knowledge deficiencies. You must stand alone on character. Do
not let short-term thinking entice you into small, subtle
concessions on matters of character. Be a leader of high morals
and impeccable integrity in everything you do.

So, I encourage you to remember this simple tip . . . It is far
better to have character than to be one.

You may use this article for electronic distribution if you will
include all contact information with live links back to the
author. Notification of use is not required, but I would
appreciate it. Please contact the author prior to use in printed
media.

Copyright 2005, Guy Harris