The saying goes character is what one does when no one is looking. It is the ultimate test of character. I find myself in many instances, both professional and personal, evaluating my own character and those of others. Always questioning credibility to establish trust; is integrity felt and seen; are intentions honest and motives genuine; are actions and responses consistent over time?
In a recent cleaning of my library, I came across an old familiar book: The Speed of Trust. It reminded me that people are always evaluating whether or not you are trustworthy and that a lot of that decision rests on your credibility and integrity. Covey uses an image to further illustrate how actions--whether seen or not--really determine one's character. How our results and capabilities are demonstrations of our competence and how our intentions and integrity (honesty and truthfulness) develop the roots of our character.
Whether in your professional or personal life, character does matter. We are judged daily by our actions. Sometimes we tarnish our character by not acting with full integrity or our results are not always aligned. Maybe our capabilities are lagging and we have not taken the time to keep learning. Or perhaps we aren't fully honest in our intentions or use small white lies or misrepresentations to skew results.
So, ask yourself (as I did), am I of good character? Would others describe me as credible? And, if you are a leader, really take the time to evaluate this. Your reports and your organization will not thrive or be successful if they don't view their leadership as credible and of good character. Rather, they will always question the motives and the trustworthiness of leadership and not give the best of themselves or their work to the cause. Character, and leadership, matter.
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