Watching what has happened to the Right Hon. David Johnston over the past months has ignited a fire in my heart to share what I have learned about character — but first let me provide some context for why I believe this topic is so important.
Thirty years ago this month I started my business. I have had the privilege of working with leaders across North America, facilitating learning and coaching sessions in factories, conference centres and meeting rooms. The focus has always been on building trust, respectful, direct communication and accountability.
Very often people informed me that this inclusive approach would not be acceptable to their organizations as it would be considered too soft. The irony was, as I attempted to explain and demonstrate, that a clear, honest, courteous, courageous approach is more effective than being either too aggressive or, as was typical, avoiding tough issues.
These conversations were the catalysts for researching and writing my books, which led to the conclusion that leaders could only really be effective if the culture is healthy.
What does it take to have a healthy, effective, sustainable culture? The answer: leaders of good character. And what does that mean? So many people talk about character. Let’s define it.
In the workplace, leaders of good character are working together to create a healthy workplace. That means a workplace with clear expectations, honest recognition for valuable work, and accountability, supported by effective, practical, aligned systems.
It seems so simple to have leaders on the same page, but it is often rare. The solution lies in defining and developing ‘good character.’ Everyone has an individual character. The challenge is to determine not only what good character means (big picture — constructively intentioned), but also what it means in specific situations (like how we treat people when we disagree with them).
Good character doesn’t rest on perfect people or perfect behaviour, but rather people who can listen, accept responsibility, learn and grow.
Intention is the starting point in determining leadership character. Does a particular leader want the organization to be successful or do they simply want to grab as much money as possible without worrying about the impact? Are the right people being promoted into leadership positions for the right reasons? It is imperative that intentions be discussed and agreed on at a leadership level and then clarified for the entire team.
These sound like obvious questions, but I suspect many of you know leaders who are self-serving versus doing the ‘right thing’ for the organization. We need leaders who are committed to the ‘right thing.’
Let’s consider the situation with our former Governor General, the Right Hon. David Johnston. This gentleman, who when requested by the prime minister to deal with a weighty issue, stepped up as an Independent Special Rapporteur on Foreign Interference.
Whether you agree with his recommendation or not, the situation revealed some important factors about our political leadership.
Partisan positions were immediately struck without a full assessment of the recommendations. The Donald Trump style of ‘attacking the messenger on a personal level,’ when you don’t like the message, was clearly in evidence. So, from a character point of view, do we have senior elected leaders who want the best for our country, or do their own interests come first, who attack people when they don’t like what they hear?
And what does that say about their character? Of course, we have to consider the system within which they lead. Is there any way to be more respectful and collaborative given the current system?
We need people who will do the right thing. Who decides what is the right thing? In effective organizations leaders decide together, based on good data. An important issue is where we are getting our information.
People I once considered as reasonable and well informed are quoting beliefs from social media and other unsubstantiated sources. I am shocked at what people can believe to be true.
There is a well-known quote by former U.S. secretary of defense James R. Schlesinger: “Everybody is entitled to his own views; everybody is not entitled to his own facts.”
David Johnston, in his book, Trust: Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country (2018), writes about the importance of sourcing solid facts. (See note regarding credible resources.)
Another particular subject that emerged so clearly in this situation is how we want to treat each other and, certainly, treat our seniors, to say nothing about a senior statesman who has served our country so well and honourably.
What do we want our Canadian character to be? Watching our former Governor General be grilled, interrupted, unkindly characterized in cartoons is surely not who we are or want to be. What can each of us do as a result of watching this disgraceful debacle?
Learn from it. Organizational leaders, ensure your leadership is on the same page regarding significant issues such as the one we have all just witnessed. Discuss character. What are the intentions (beliefs, values and objectives) of your leaders and, thereby, your organization?
We will only be successful when we unite to do the right thing — which requires good character.
Notes and character tools
Questions for leaders to discuss with each other and their teams:
- How do each of us describe our culture?
- How would our teams describe the culture of this organization?
- What culture do we aspire to?
- Are we, as leaders, competing or collaborating?
- What can we do to collaborate more effectively?
What is the best way for us, as a leadership team, to ensure we are on the same page in terms of how we treat each other? Also:
- People who are doing excellent work
- People who aren’t meeting expectations
- Our senior staff
Craig Leonard, industrial-organizational psychology PhD and senior consultant at EY, suggests the following information for credible leadership data. Gartner, and Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Kathleen Redmond, has written five books on organizational culture and employee engagement.
She is offering a courtesy sample of her character culture framework (competencies and values), which is housed in Building a Character Culture for Trust and Results in the Workplace.
The intention is to provide an opportunity for discussion on beliefs, values and objectives in your workplace.
Click here to download this sample. If you would like a copy of the full character culture framework please email Kathleen directly at [email protected].
