A PRESENTATION ON

LEADERSHIP AND
CHARACTER
CHARACTER
 The aggregate of features and traits that
form the individual nature of some
person or thing.
 Character – indispensable to leadership.
 Character is to leadership as hydrogen
is to water
 In short, good leadership proceeds from
good character. Example: Mahatma
Gandhi.
LEADERSHIP

The ability to influence people to work

enthusiastically towards a common goal.
LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTER
 “Leadership is a combination of
strategy and character. If you must be
without one, be without the strategy.”
Dimensions of Character
 Core Values
 No compromise between people and
profits
 Authenticity
 Managing away “bad habits”
 Trust
 Resilience
Core Values
 Humility
 Will (fierce resolve to achieve anything)
 Level 5 Leadership
. = Humility + Will
 Example: Darwin Smith
Humility
 Humility means being authentic and
without pretense or arrogance.
 Humility is not thinking less of yourself
but it is thinking of yourself less.
No Compromise
 Leaders of HCHP firms refuse to choose
between people and profits.
 True commitment is a vision. It is a
dedication to growing, stretching and
continuously improving.
 How these leaders are able to do what others
find impossible to do?
 Strategies:
 Trust
 People engagement
Strategies and Examples
 Focused agenda
 Build collective leadership

 Examples: Max Debree of Herman

Miller, Jorma Ollila of Nokia, Allan
Leighton of Royal Mail Group, Leif
Johansson of Volvo.
Authenticity
 Don’t imitate but innovate. Example:
Amgen CEO Kevin Sharer.
 Characteristics of authentic leaders:
 Passion for purpose
 Consistency
 Lead with head and heart
 Establish long term meaningful
relationships.
Examples
 Novartis chairman and CEO, Daniel
Vasella.
 Azim Premji, Narayana Murthy, Ratan
Tata.
Managing away “bad habits”
 What are these bad habits?
 The Hero
 The Meritocrat
 The Bulldozer
 The Pessimist
 The Rebel
 The Home Run Hitter
The Six behavior patterns
 Hero: Always pushes himself but creates
a feeling of insecurity among other
subordinates.
 Meritocrat: Believes world is a fair
market, looks at the objectivity.
 Bulldozer: Believes world is a hostile
place.
 Pessimist: sees the downside in any
change.
The Six behavior patterns
 Rebel: asks inappropriate questions in
meetings and mocks at the motives
behind any change.
 Home Run Hitter: focuses on things that
are too big too soon.
Trust

Measure of quality of a
relation

Expectation and
confidence in one person,
group or organization
Work Environment
High
Low trust
Trust
Productive Unproductive
Motivating Threatening
Supportive Stressful
Comfortable Tense
Model for Trust
 Predicting if a person will trust of distrust
 Identifying relationships
 Diagnose root cause
 Methods to improve
Model for Trust
Decision
Situational
Maker
factors
Factors
Security
Risk Tolerance
Similarity

Alignment of interest

Level of Adjustment Benevolent concern

Capability

Predictability and concern

Relative Power
Level of communication
Resilience
 Positive capacity of people to cope up
with stress and adversity
 Ability to bounce back to normal state
Characteristics for Resilience

Acceptance of Reality

Strong Beliefs

Ability to Improvise
Acceptance of Reality

Optimism

Preparedness
Strong Beliefs

Searching for meaning

Value system
Ability to Improvise

Ability to make do with

whatever is in hand

Imagining possibilities
Bouncing Back from Adversity
Cause Response
oriented oriented
thinking thinking

Control Identifying features of

Identifying factors that the situation that can
caused crisis be improved

Impact
Did I cause the
Positive effects of our
adverse event or
actions
external event
 Cause Response
oriented oriented
thinking thinking

Breadth How can we contain

Is underlying cause the negatives
specific or
widespread

Duration
What can we do to
How long crisis will
address the problem
last
now
Building Character
 The aggregate features and traits that
form the individual nature of a person
 End of Education is Character
Building Character
 Ethical Moments
 Defining moments.
 Transformative Experience
Transformative Experience
 Experiences that shape leaders
 Experience through which an individual comes
to a new or an altered sense of identity
 Examine their values, question their
assumption, hone their judgments
 Clearer sense of personal strength and
capabilities
 Emerge out stronger, more engaged and more
committed than ever.
Who am I
 Defining moments of an Individual
 Personal identity
 Conflicting feelings
What feelings and intuitions are coming into
conflict in this situation
 Deeply rooted values
Which values are more rooted in my life
 Shrewdness and expediency
To implement personal understanding of what is
right
Who are We
 Defining moment of a group
 Point of view
What are the other strong, persuasive
interpretations of the ethics of this situation
 Influencing behavior
What point of view is most likely to win and
influence the thinking and behavior of other people
 Process
Have I put a process that can make my
interpretations win in the group
Who is the company
 Personal and organizational strength
Have I done all to secure my position and the
strength of the organization
 Role of organization in society
Role of organization in society and
relationship to stockholders
 From vision to reality
What combination of shrewdness, creativity
and tenacity will help me transform my vision
to reality.