Character - The Foundation of Excellence

“Waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” - Marcus Aurelius

And

“The best way to end an argument about whether a stick is crooked,

is to lay down beside it a straight stick.”

Building ExcellenceLeaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is “being all you can be” within the bounds of doing what is right for your organization. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character. Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership. And the first process is being a person of honorable character.

We define character as the sum of those qualities of moral excellence that stimulates a person to do the right thing, which is manifested through right and proper actions despite internal or external pressures to the contrary. - U. S. Air Force Academy

Character affects every area of our lives - our beliefs, our thoughts, our decisions, our words, our actions, our attitudes, our goals, and our relationships. In fact, any breakdown in life can almost always be traced back to a breakdown in character.

Character develops over time. Many think that much of a person’s character is formed early in life. However, no one really knows exactly how much or how early character develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly. A person’s observable behavior is an indication of their character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve.

To Be an Effective Leaders, Your Followers Must Have Trust In You

Korn-Ferry International, an executive search company, performed a survey on what organizations want from their leaders. The respondents said they wanted people who were both ethical and who convey a strong vision of the future. In any organization, a leader’s actions set the pace. This behavior wins trust, loyalty, and ensures the organization’s continued vitality. One of the best ways to build trust is to display a good sense of character composed of beliefs, values, skills, and traits:

Beliefs are what we hold dear to us and are rooted deeply within us. They could be assumptions or convictions that you hold true regarding people, concepts, or things. They could be the beliefs about life, death, religion, what is good, what is bad, what is human nature, etc.

Values are attitudes about the worth of people, concepts, or things. For example, you might value a good car, home, friendship, personal comfort, or relatives. Values are important as they influence a person’s behavior to weigh the importance of alternatives.

Skills are the knowledge and abilities that a person gains throughout life. The ability to learn a new skill varies with each individual. Some skills come almost naturally, while others come only by complete devotion to study and practice.

Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. There are hundreds of personality traits, far too many to be discussed here. Instead, we will focus on nine key traits - building bricks - that form the foundation of strong character.

The Nine Building Bricks of Character - “TRACER DOGS”>Trustworthiness >Respect >Attentiveness >Compassion >Enthusiasm >Responsibility

>Discretion >Obedience >Service ——- More on TRACER DOGS tomorrow!

The time is always right to do what is right.

- Martin Luther King, Jr., civil-rights leader, minister (1929-1968)

Of all the properties which belong to honorable men, not one is so highly prized as that of character. - Henry Clay, statesman, orator, politician (1777-1852)

DAILY PRAYER“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” - Proverbs 22:1

Lord, thank you for creating within us the potential for excellence in character. Help us to develop and release it in all that we do. In Jesus name, Amen.

Ultimately, there is no right way to do the wrong thing. This applies in your family, in the marketplace of business, education, and government, in the media, in the arts, in sports, in your community, in the church.

Grace and peace multiplied to you,