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Leadership Character: A Six-Part Series by West Point's Col. Eric Kail
Leadership Character: A Six-Part Series by West Point's Col. Eric Kail
Leadership Character: A Six-Part Series by West Point's Col. Eric Kail
Eric Kail
By Col. Eric Kail Col. Eric Kail is an Army field artillery officer who has commanded at the company and battalion levels. He is the course director of military leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He holds a PhD in organizational psychology. This piece is the introduction to a six-part series on leadership character. Picture the faces of the two most influential people in your life, the leaders who had the greatest impact on you. What made them so large in your eyeswas it what they did or who they were? That is, was it their skills and abilities that left such an impression or their character? Now think back to the last time a senior leader cost your organization valuable assets, from stock value to human capital. Chances are good that it was a character failure on their part, not a matter of their technical or managerial abilities. While most leadership discussions center on what leaders do, this short series is intended to generate a dialogue on leadership character. Some might say that leaders character, who they are, in factdetermines what they do. I say, then all the more reason to focus our leadership literature and dialogue on character development. And when I say character, I dont mean personality. Yes, there is a growing volume of empirical evidence regarding the role of personality in leadership effectiveness, but personality has been determined to be relatively stable over time. We are pretty much stuck with the personality we have by the time we begin grade school; our character, on the other hand, is definitely subject to development. The following six blog installments will roll out over the course of 2011 and will each focus on the importance of a particular facet of leadership character: courage, integrity, selflessness, empathy, collaboration and reflection. In the first installment, on courage , Ill examine both the moral and physical elements of the trait. It turns out we are not as courageous as might think we are. Second, Ill make an argument for integrity that goes beyond the old adage that integrity means doing whats right when no one else is looking. Ill take a slightly different approach than the glass ball, or pure until sullied perspective on integrity. Third, Ill discuss the role of selflessness , and how being a selfless leader is actually the opposite of being a weak or soft leader. Fourth, Ill provide some thoughts on why we think we are so much more empathetic than we really are. Leaders probably understand empathyand its importance better than followers, and yet they tend to practiceif at all. These first four facets of character are where most current thought on character stops, but I believe leadership character goes beyond just these four. The operational environment I first started
leading in during the 1980s no longer exists. Back then, I was taught to use formal authority to impose my will upon others; that was leadership. Formal authority still has a place in my leadership lexicon, but the need lead more collaboratively is greater than ever. So in the fifth installment, Ill present two components of collaboration : peer support and seeing the big picture. Both are critical in translating leadership performance into leadership potential. Finally, in number six, Ill introduce the concept of reflection. The inclination for leaders to reflect is a critical character component for growth, self awareness and authenticity. The idea behind this series isnt just to identify and define these components of character, its also to help you assess how much you have themand even more importantly, to introduce ideas for developing them in ourselves and in other leaders. Ill look forward to your comments, challenges and opinions along the way. Stay tuned. And follow On Leadership on Twitter and Facebook to be alerted when each new installment comes out. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. More in this series: Introduction to the leadership character series Part one: The role of courage Part two: The role of integrity Part three: The role of selflessness Part four: The role of empathy Part five: The role of collaboration
because of what you can do for them or to them. Selfless leaders get their egos out of the way in order to focus on the mission and those who accomplish it. Selfish leaders want their personal pride stroked by intimidating others and feeling important. As leaders, we hold others especially subordinate leaders accountable. And yet we must be even more accountable to them. If you start to hear yourself say "I've already done that" or "that's below my pay grade," youve probably started to believe that others are there to serve you. Without regulation, were all vulnerable to leading selfishly. So first, be transparent with your own followers that youre there to serve; and then, help others acknowledge the unrealistic fears at the root of their own selfish behaviors.
individual differences, not in spite of them. Each person brings unique perceptions, experiences, strengths and challenges to a team. Allowing everyone to contribute to a goal in a meaningful way is far better than marginalizing someone for the sake of an imagined better outcome. In this way, empathy is far more critical to good leadership than any technical knowledge, skill or ability. You can learn to be more empatheticbut not the way you would memorize answers for a test, rather the way you would internalize knowledge for a lifetime of application. We can all tell when someone is pretending to be interested in us, and others can sense it just as easily when we do the same. As leaders we must be listening rather than waiting to speak. The brilliant nugget of wisdom on the tip of my tongue is nowhere near as powerful as what the other person is saying. What I cannot wait to say matters to me. What they are saying matters deeply to them. We have two ears that do not close, but only one mouth that easily does. As you strive to be more empathetic, try not to interrogate people for information about themselves. Instead, focus on increasing your understanding and appreciation of what makes them unique. The next time you have the occasion to recognize someones good performance, ask if you can spend an hour with them learning how they do a task so effectively. Every time you have something powerful to say, resist the urge. Instead turn the tables with something as simple as, Tell me more about yourself. If you are truly listening, you will be well on the way to increasing your empathy and the integrity of your leadership characterin the eyes of those you lead.
The zero-sum game is for short-minded leaders. For those with a long view, collaboration is fundamentally an opportunity, not a threat. As leaders, we stand on the shoulders of giants. We also serve alongside them every day; we just do not give them the credit they deserve. Increasing our collaboration with other leaders allows us to achieve more than we ever could alone. It took me 10 years of leading in the Army, and the patient work of two mentors, to understand that my leaders needed me and my peers to be successful, not just me. My immaturity kept me from understanding that what I needed from my subordinate leaders was precisely the same as what my leaders needed from me: teamwork. Once I began sharing good ideas with my peers, three things became very clear. First of all, I was not as smart as I thought I was. My peers often had better ideas than I did. Second, once we stopped hoarding valuable resources and began sharing, we suddenly all had more than we needed. And third, I realized that I enjoyed watching my peers do well, and that taking pride in their accomplishments did not cost me a thing. We could all succeed together. I often hear from senior leaders, those selecting future executives, that an employees performance at one level is not necessarily potential for the next. This vexing issue gets worse as the level of responsibility increases. Leading at the next level requires expanding our view beyond ourselves. As leaders, we need to remove ourselves from the center of the leadership equation and let go of the need to receive the credit we think we so richly deserve. The challenge is to remain hungry for daily excellence without letting our competitive nature run wild. Do not expect collaboration unless you practice it. You are fooling yourself if you think that you can be magnanimous with your followers while backstabbing your peers. Our subordinate leaders take their cues from us regarding how they should behave with each other. If you have a maverick you are trying to rein in because he or she does not play well with others, try practicing the behavior you are seeking. Take stock of what you reward in others. We love to talk about the importance of teamwork and then hand out trophies for individual achievement. Instead, recognize people for sharing ideas just as much as you celebrate their achievements. You may also need to take the time to explicitly show your subordinate leaders how their efforts and the efforts of others contribute to overall excellence from your perspective. Finally, check out your bio. What does it say about your collaborative capacity as a leader?