Character = Foundation of Leadership

In my morning devotion today, John Maxwell quotes Proverbs 16:12 - "Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation."

We all have a goal to grow, develop and mature in life.  What we saw, understood, or experienced yesterday may not be how we see, understand, or experience the same event today, tomorrow, or in the future.  That is because we will have grown, developed, or matured in some way that makes us a little different today than yesterday.  Our lens may have changed in a certain way, so our perspective in life or on that event is different today than yesterday.

That happens when authors republish their books years later under new versions.  They have grown, developed, and matured in life, so they are certainly not the same person they were when they wrote the first version of their book.

I have watched that happen with many of John Maxwell's books that he has written.  I want to share a significant change when John wrote his version 2.0 of Developing the Leader Within You.

By the way, I have seen this same thing happen to Zig Ziglar, Stephen Covey, and many others who, in their "Third Age" of life, appeared to focus on the relevance and importance Character, Values, and Ethics play in our lives.  John Maxwell is no different.  BTW...I am also a certified Zig Ziglar Legacy Coach.

I have been a coach, teacher, and speaker for John since 2002, when his company was in Atlanta, GA.  I was only certified to teach and speak on his book, Developing The Leader Within You.

That is likely why this change I will share with you jumped right out when I read his version 2.0.  It was not simply printed on a page but signaled and communicated a fundamental change in John and how he was now looking at Character....as the Foundation of Leadership.

In John's book, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 (DTLWY), I noticed a very important change in John's title to Chapter #3.  In his version 1.0 of DTLWY, he titled the Chapter, Integrity and used the subtitle: The Most Important Ingredient of Leadership.

In DTLWY 2.0, John changed the title to Character, and the subtitle was: The Foundation of Leadership.

To most people, they may have never noticed the change.  Why do you think John made the subtle change?

My answer is that it wasn't so subtle.  This was monumental!

Character is the Foundation of Leadership.  I often write, speak, teach, and coach on this topic.

Leadership seems to be a "sexy" topic, which is safe to discuss.  Character, on the other hand, is not as "sexy" or safe to discuss, and maybe that is because it can cause a lot of Discussion Stopper conversations and often makes people feel uneasy, anxious, or even guilty.

So, unfortunately, most people shy away from discussing Character, Values or Ethics.  

That is too bad since if they don't talk about it and share it outwardly with others, then those same people most likely do not talk to themselves about Character or values either.

We are the most important person we lead and therefore influence in life. If Character is the Foundation of Leadership, then we definitely need to lead ourselves first by talking and discussing Character internally so we can Lead with Character first and truly grow as authentic and genuine Leaders.

If John Maxwell, as he writes in his book DTLWY 2.0, believes that Character is the Foundation of Leadership, then shouldn't we all be focused more on the Character and Values that drive great leaders?

How about you?  When did you last think about the importance of Character or Values?

Especially today so much is pulling us away from what matters most in life.  Make Character Count!

Want to learn more about Character and how it shapes you and me as leaders?  

Would you like to know how to Lead with Character First?  You can!  

It is always possible to start leading and living better by focusing on Leading with Character First.

I wrote about this in my book titled, The Tricycle Effect.  It is on Amazon, and you can pick up a copy in ebook, paperback, or audio.  You can also read the Foreword (by Lee Ellis, a USAF Colonel, and Vietnam POW) and Chapter 1 for FREE.

Start your Character journey to developing as a strong, mature, well-balanced 360-degree leader today!

Trike On!

Dane

Character Coach

True North Leadership

In Bill George's book "True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership.," Bill quotes Sara Lee CEO Brenda Barnes who says: “The most important thing about leadership is your character and the values that guide your life.”

She added,"If you are guided by an internal compass that represents your character and the values that guide your decisions, you’re going to be fine. Let your values guide your actions and don’t ever lose your internal compass, because everything isn’t black or white. There are a lot of gray areas in business." Bill himself goes on to say, "When you are aligned with who you are, you find coherence between your life story and your leadership."

I want to affirm what Bill and Sara are saying. Too many leaders in this day and age have no True North, but even more than that, they have either lost or never had a Moral Compass! I am not speaking about highly educated, high ranking people in particular. I am speaking to the common everyday citizen in our society who plays a leadership (influence) role in our culture such as a husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, small business owner, etc. We the leaders in our families, farms, villages, cities, and states must find our moral compass, and lead with the conviction of character, and values, and principles once again.

Our leadership should be our life story lived out by our actions in following our True North for others to follow. I want to encourage you today, and challenge you to seek out your True North and lead with character first!