“Character is higher than intellect.” ­­– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leadership speaker and author John Maxwell jump-started the trend of defining leadership as influence. I agree with him and the leadership experts (such as Oswald Sanders) whom Maxwell cites as his inspiration. But does that definition go far enough? Does just having influence make someone a leader?

Along with influence, the direction we lead another person toward is important. Hitler had influence, but what he led people to do was horrific. Stalin had influence. Bin Ladin had influence too. But the goals of each of these leaders were immoral and incredibly damaging to generations upon generations of people. I believe that motives, among other things, separate the Leaders of Character from the rest.

I also maintain that there should be some level of achievement involved in leading. Leaders of Character are different than people who just wield influence. Who cares if I have influence on others, but the influence is not used to accomplish any concrete, beneficial goals?

A movie critic has influence, but whom are they leading? A talking head on CNN or Fox News has influence, but are they leading anyone towards something positive? Do they help others accomplish any goals?

No one would deny that Hitler and Jesus, Stalin and Ghandi, and Bin Ladin and Abraham Lincoln were leaders. They all had influence. But not all of them were Leaders of Character. Leadership—at least any leadership of genuine value—must be more than mere influence. It matters for what purpose that leadership is used, what goals are being pursued.

Andersons’ 12-Word (or less) Definition of a Leader of Character

Someone who uses influence to achieve a moral or ethical goal

The type of goal a leader is aiming at defines whether he is a Leader of Character or just a person of influence. The bottom-line is this: when you try to differentiate a Leader of Character from the rest of the so-called leaders out there, look at their motives.

Leadership is a blend of competence and character

A Story From Gen James L. Anderson 

My friend and West Point classmate General Norman Schwartzkopf helped me solidify my leadership philosophy. I was preparing to leave the military and was telling Norm about my plans to start my own leadership consulting business. That was when he asked me, “Jim, what’s your niche?”

I told him my philosophy was that leadership was a blend of competence and character. He thought for a second and then added, “Jim, I agree. But did you ever stop to think that most failures in leadership are failures in character and not failures in competence?”

Character Is Why People Follow

The bottom line is character is why people follow leaders. Another way to see this is to look at the biggest leadership failures we know. These could be people featured in the news, people from history, or people we personally know. When you think about those failures, were those failures in competence or as a result of character flaws?

Why Do Leaders Fail?

Fear, arrogance, lapses in integrity, selfishness, poor work ethic, bad attitudes—these are the causes of most leadership failures. Rarely is it a case that someone couldn’t do the job due to competence issues. Usually it is a result of that leader having a character issue that caused their downfall.

  • Did Nazi Germany collapse because Hitler and his party did not know how to run an efficient government or war machine? Or was it because Hitler was one of the most amoral and evil men of the twentieth century?
  • Did Bernie Madoff’s investment empire collapse because he didn’t know how to manage money, or was it an issue of Integrity?
  • Did Enron implode because the company leaders did not know how to run an energy trading company, or was it an Integrity issue? Or was it a Courage issue on the part of some leaders?
  • Did FIFA not know how to promote soccer worldwide and how to generate an enormous fan base? Or was it the selfishness of the people indicted for fraud and corruption that put the whole organization in jeopardy?

The Bottom Line:

Am I saying competence is not important? Absolutely not! Incompetence in a leader is incredibly damaging. Competency is a hugely important part of the leadership equation. Hiring, developing, and reinforcing leadership competence are critical for organizations and individuals to remain competitive. Leaders must be competent in certain management skills.

In fact, over and over again—in big and small businesses, in for-profits and non-profits, in the government and in the private sector—the search for and almost exclusive emphasis on competence reigns. We continue to hire, train, and evaluate people based on competencies. But, as we have repeatedly found, the inability to do the job is rarely why leaders fail—character is!

That is why some people have begun calling me a Character Evangelist.  Because character needs to become our focus in leader development.

Question:

What are you doing to develop your character and the character of those you are called to lead?

Dave Anderson is coauthor of Becoming a Leader of Character – Six Habits that Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home with his father General James L. Anderson (USA Retired).
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