I have a question for you. How important is the attribute of character for leaders?
Well, I am in the “pretty darn important” camp, and I imagine many of you are there as well. Yet over the years, I have seen a number of pieces of research that say when voting for a political leader, people tend to vote for the candidate who “best represents my own personal interests,” more so than anything related to candidate character. In fact, you have likely heard (or even said) something like, “all politicians are liars and crooks in some manner, but I am still voting for (whomever).” And as voters become even more deeply committed to their “like-minded” candidate, that candidate’s character flaws will usually be instantly dismissed, assuming they are ever even acknowledged in the first place. Hmm.
Self-interest or character? This dilemma occurs in all parts of life, not just politics. Would you ever take a highly desired job, long sought-after promotion, or a big pay raise, knowing that it might require a little rule bending or even deceiving others on occasion. How about this? Would you secretly be OK if a school administrator did a couple of somewhat shady things, which resulted in your child getting the educational opportunity of a lifetime? Fundamentally, questions like these are asking whether you agree with the notion that if a goal is worthy enough, then some “character-compromising” means to achieve it are acceptable?
When posed rhetorically, the immediate answer to these questions is “of course not.” However, when they become real life confrontations, the answer is often not so simple. The character vs. self-interest tension is real, especially when acting on those interests is considered self-preservation. “I am aware of the sleazy things we sometimes do around here, but I just can’t simply quit my job. My family needs a roof over their heads and food on the table.”
Most of us are pretty quick to judge a character misstep in others. Perhaps we all need to have some bone-honest conversations with ourselves about our own self-interests. As imperfect humans, we will all at times fall short. So, we must first acknowledge and then come to grips with how we will deal with those particular motives that might lead us away from being a leader of character. And yes, that can often be one of those tough conversations we all would prefer to postpone until later.
I personally believe that the world works better with leaders of good character, and there is certainly plenty of room for many, many more. I am hoping that you will choose to be one of them and will continue the hard work – and sacrifice – required to achieve that very worthy end.
Reflect on this.
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