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!
Showing posts with label morals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label morals. Show all posts
Monday, April 29, 2013
Monday, September 28, 2009
A Corrupt Government is Impossible!
I have heard it said many times recently on the TV, radio, and elsewhere..."our government is corrupt. "
Well, I do not happen to believe that type of thinking. To say the government is corrupt creates an aire of anxiety and depression, even helplessness which results in a realization that we can't do anything about the government as a whole. It is just too big an elephant to even eat one bite at a time.
However, I think the problem can be broken down to a much simpler form than that, and one where we can really make a difference in our government and in our personal lives. Our government is made up of people and each of those people may be good or corrupt in their morals and character as the case may be. However, the government itself is not. The government is nothing aside from the people that serve in it and that it serves.
So, next time you hear someone say that the government is corrupt, please remind them that the government is made up of people, and people can change for the good. Today, more people are waking up to the fact that it is not the government that is corrupt, but corrupt people that operate within the government. More people are also reawakening to the fact that an individual's character is the most important attribute we each possess, and therefore we each need to work on developing and maintaining better character all the time. That way we really can help develop a better character for ourselves, our families, and our government. With each person living a better character we can stay on the moral and ethical track to deliver a better quality of life for everyone in the United States.
In the US Air Force we used to have a common saying that went like this: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That can only happen when a person's character is drunk with what is perceived as power. That is one reason our Founding Fathers created three branches of government. They wanted to make sure that checks and balances were in place to ensure that no person or persons could operate with corruption within our government.
Today, we face a very difficult time in the United States. I believe there is a way to bring us back to our "roots" if you will...and that is through Character Education. Please visit www.charactercounts.org for more information. Here you will find a network of people and organizations that are dedicated to the education and maintenance of "character education" throughout our country. Leaders must lead with Character First!
Martin Luther King said, "
Coach Dane
Well, I do not happen to believe that type of thinking. To say the government is corrupt creates an aire of anxiety and depression, even helplessness which results in a realization that we can't do anything about the government as a whole. It is just too big an elephant to even eat one bite at a time.
However, I think the problem can be broken down to a much simpler form than that, and one where we can really make a difference in our government and in our personal lives. Our government is made up of people and each of those people may be good or corrupt in their morals and character as the case may be. However, the government itself is not. The government is nothing aside from the people that serve in it and that it serves.
So, next time you hear someone say that the government is corrupt, please remind them that the government is made up of people, and people can change for the good. Today, more people are waking up to the fact that it is not the government that is corrupt, but corrupt people that operate within the government. More people are also reawakening to the fact that an individual's character is the most important attribute we each possess, and therefore we each need to work on developing and maintaining better character all the time. That way we really can help develop a better character for ourselves, our families, and our government. With each person living a better character we can stay on the moral and ethical track to deliver a better quality of life for everyone in the United States.
In the US Air Force we used to have a common saying that went like this: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That can only happen when a person's character is drunk with what is perceived as power. That is one reason our Founding Fathers created three branches of government. They wanted to make sure that checks and balances were in place to ensure that no person or persons could operate with corruption within our government.
Today, we face a very difficult time in the United States. I believe there is a way to bring us back to our "roots" if you will...and that is through Character Education. Please visit www.charactercounts.org for more information. Here you will find a network of people and organizations that are dedicated to the education and maintenance of "character education" throughout our country. Leaders must lead with Character First!
Martin Luther King said, "
‘Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education’
Trike On!Coach Dane
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