Leading Todays Organisations

Does character matter anymore in leadership? Should organizations worry about character if productivity is not affected? In an age, when the skill based results at any cost strategy seems to be the trend, when expedience takes precedence over morals and ethics - principled leadership may not seem important anymore.

However, while skills are important in relating to, and leading the team towards organizational goals, several studies conducted among employees highlight the importance of character.

For instance, in the Characteristics of Admired Leaders survey developed by Kouzes and Posner (2007) and administered to over seventy-five thousand people of diverse cultures around the world, the credibility of the leader topped the list. The works of Sinha (1994), Misumi (1985) and Kakar (1971) on Asian leadership reinforce this aspect. Presented another way, people want to assure themselves that the leaders they follow are worthy of their trust.

Stephen Covey in his work titled Speed of Trust illustrates this clearly.

An informal survey of our own organizations will confirm that people will follow leaders who can be trusted more so in difficult times. In lean times, such exemplary leaders model cost-cutting by applying the cost cutting measures first on themselves.

As a result of their integrity such leaders are able to build a high-trust team culture that is essential to navigate the organization through uncertain and perilous times.

The progressive leaders understand that the age of encyclopedic minds and the command and control approach in leadership is fast becoming obsolete.

They know that Leadership is about networks and partnerships.

Seth Godin in his work points out that while everyone can be a leader; most are kept from realizing their potential.

Leaders with character are able to uncover and harness the hidden potential of every team member and utilize it for the greater good of the organization.

Such leaders are humble enough to admit that they know that they do not know and surround themselves with people who can compensate for their weaknesses.

Goffee and Jones in their article: Why should anyone be led by you (Harvard Business Review, Sept/Oct 2000) note that when leaders reveal their weaknesses, they reveal who they are warts and all and thereby create an environment of interdependency and solidarity within the team.

This environment of interdependence is of immense value especially during tough times where total organizational commitment and participation become an absolute necessity.

Team of Rivals Leaders with character emphasize organizational success over personal survival.

Such leaders go beyond personal loyalties and select those who are loyal to the organizational vision.

Agreed, such decisions involve risks of betrayal and call for courage and inner strength in placing organizational success over personal fame.

This demands going beyond personal differences, seeking the highest good of the organization and working with different and even difficult people towards the end goal.

Doris Kearns Goodwin in her much publicized book, Team of Rivals, outlines how Abraham Lincoln was an outstanding example of this leadership characteristic. Goodwin offers ground breaking insights into Lincolns leadership style when he chose his three rivals in the Republican nomination to serve in his Cabinet. William Seward, Salmon Chase and Edward Bates - all accomplished men of great standing, initially disdained Lincoln in the race for the Republican nomination in 1860.

On his victory, they were invited by Lincoln to serve as Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury and as Attorney General respectively.

Lincoln turned rivals into allies and harnessed their strengths for the greater good of the nation.

For Lincoln this race was about the future of the nation and not about himself.

Similarly, principled leaders are able to lay aside personal rivalry for the greater good of the organization.

They see the role and place of people in the organization and are able to get that Individual commitment to a group effort (Vince Lombardi).

Goodwin argues that had Lincoln not forged these rivals into a team he would not have been able to lead the nation through one of its darkest periods.

Staying power Bill Hybels refers to vision as the leaders most potent weapon. Driven by their vision, such leaders stay the course with hope despite the challenges.

The focus is on the long-term.

They understand that a leader is essentially a purveyor of hope, and like master builders, see the completed building arising from the rubble and the chaos of building sites.

Jim Collins in his latest book, How the mighty fall: And why some companies never give up (2009) underscores the importance of hope - if hope is abandoned, then you should begin preparing for the end.

The discipline of delayed gratification is honed into a fine art by such leaders as they plod on steadily driven by the vision.

Character plays a crucial role in determining a leaders future.

Moral and ethical challenges on the job test the strength of a leaders character. We must not forget that leadership is, primarily, service. As such, serving others is uppermost on the minds of the true leader.

Leaders ought to see themselves as stewards of the most important resource of the organization and as such need to be trustworthy leaders.

Furthermore, ethics in business is sustained by culture, not simply by compliance. Truly effective internal controls are the result of cultures of character and cultures that are created and maintained by leaders of character. The result of character is the mark that our behaviour leaves on the lives of others. Demand for leaders with character, therefore, will never diminish.

Ben Manickam is a Chartered Manager, serves as Director of the Center for Graduate Studies and lectures on the MBA and MSc (Organizational Development) programs of the University of Peradeniya. He can be contacted at [email protected]