The Character of Leadership

Summary

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Character has come in from the cold. Its importance to leadership is considerable. Not surprisingly, the importance of the character of leadership is making inroads in the business world. Leaders with character achieve results that transcend everyday organizational imperatives and outcomes. Nonetheless, the key attributes of authentic leaders, or leaders with character, remain problematic. To identify these attributes and better understand them, a study was conducted. This paper is based on that study and in it the three underlying dimensions of leadership character -- universalism, transformation, and benevolence were identified. Ways of further enhancing these dimensions and their constituent attributes were also suggested.

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Extract

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The Character of Leadership

Scratch the surface of a true leader, or look beneath his or her personality, and you'll find character. The traits and values that make up the character of a good business leader are, for the most part, similar to those that make up the character of an outstanding citizen. These authors describe the traits and values that make up the character of leadership.

I have a dream today . . . I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Speech on steps of Lincoln Memorial

Civil Rights March

23 August 1963

Character has come in from the cold. Once the poor cousin of clinical psychology and behavioural studies, character is once again recognized as a critically important component of personality and therefore, of what makes people tick. Its importance to leadership is considerable.

Character in leadership

Not surprisingly, the importance of the character of leadership is making inroads in the business world, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the major manufacturer of health care products in the United States, views character as a leadership essential. Former Chairman Ralph Larsen believes that people with character can give a company a significant competitive advantage. The company actively seeks to recruit and be represented by people of exceptional character. Johnson & Johnson's stance is supported by research which suggests that in leadership, good character counts. According to Frances Hesselbein, the author and chairman of the Drucker Foundation, lea...

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