A Character-Led Revolution
I'm feeling angry, disappointed and more than mildly revolutionary ...
I think I'm going to give up watching the news on TV.
I've already made great strides in my 'revolution of one'. I've cut back to four nights a week. But breaking stories ... issues of the day ... public debate ... trend watching ... I love it all.
But that's not the real problem ...
I happen to work in an industry where you come into contact with people ... lots of people. From all walks of life. Wonderful, and sometimes different, people.
But why does it seem that the people with the largest entourage, or who shout the loudest, are the ones who end up on the news. You know the shot. A disgraced executive walking briskly out of court on the twenty-second day of a trial in which they astoundingly 'don't recall' any details.
And this is the trend I see ...
Case Number One
He was a high-school drop out who went on to make millions selling burglar alarms. He counted some of Australia's richest and most powerful as his friends and established The Kindness Foundation, a charity set up to organise a week filled with random acts of kindness.
Case Number Two
A graduate of the famed Unites States Military Academy (also known as West Point), he was destined to succeed. He learned his business skills under Sir James Goldsmith and Kerry Packer before taking the reins of Lily Tulip Cup and Scott Paper and has had at least one film made of his life.
Case Number Three
After being born in China to Russian Jewish parents he arrived in Australia as a young immigrant in 1951. After qualifying as a lawyer he went on to become the youngest ever member of the Sydney Stock Exchange, and Australia's most famous stockbroker.
How will these three business people be remembered? For the amazing business success they have enjoyed? For their historic significance? For the excitement that surrounded them?
Sadly, each will recorded in history for their utter lack of credibility.
Brad Cooper (Case One) was sentenced in the Supreme Court on 23 June 2006 on 13 charges, relating to bribes he paid an HIH official to push through false claims in the months before the insurer's collapse. He received an eight year sentence, with an order to spend at least five years in jail.
Al 'Chainsaw' Dunlap (Case Two) made his mark on the business landscape by retrenching thousands of employees at the same time he closed manufacturing plants and factories. His last employer (Sunbeam) sacked him after the share price rose more than 500 per cent before dropping evenfurther within the space of four months. Al Dunlap agreed to pay $15 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit.
Following a long running investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Rene Rivkin (Case Three) was found guilty of insider trading in April 2003. He was sentenced to nine months periodic detention on weekends. ASIC and the Australian Tax Office continued investigating Mr Rivkin's shareholdings relating to suspicions that his printing plant was burnt down as part of an insurance fraud.
If leadership lessons, university curricula and church sermons seem to be giving the theme of character more space than usual, it's for good reason.
Character based scandals are no longer the sole domain of the big end of town. Politicians get caught out lying. Small business owners cheat employees and public servants are discovered rorting the system.
There seems to be evidence of a character deficiency in Australia.
So here's the starting point of the 'Character Manifesto' in my budding revolution.
Character needs cultivating
Character doesn't just happen. It needs to be taught, grown and cultivated. An ethics unit at university is important, but nowhere near as effective as modelling character at home with our children and teaching it at school.
Leaders of every shape and size are now scrutinised for solid characters like never before. No matter how big and successful we get, Western Australia is still a small town. A leader's credibility can vanish in a momentary lapse.
Character really does count
I once thought of character and reputation as so similar that the difference was inconsequential. But they are different sides of the same coin. Reputation is, of course, based on how others see us. It can change based on an accusation or unfortunate circumstance. Character, however, is built on internal resolution, and it remains rock solid while circumstances change around us. In the end, a leader's character will show through.
I rarely quote poetry, but these anonymous five lines deserve to be laser etched into every leader's grey matter:
Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words;
Be careful of your words, for your words become your deeds;
Be careful of your deeds, for your deeds become your habits;
Be careful of your habits; for your habits become you character;
Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.
Individuals have character - not organisations
Organisations don't act, people do. Organisations don't mine gold, people do. Organisations don't create new products, people do. Organisations don't commit fraud, people do ... individuals. Leadership is personal.
This is an important distinction, because ultimately, every one of us must take personal responsibility for our actions. And actions have consequences.
People - you and I - are the engines that power our organisations. Your organisation's impact on Western Australia and our nation relies on our decisions, its leaders.
But what organisations can do very well is develop cultures. In fact, a culture is so contagious that your organisation would have one even if you were in quarantine. Encouraging a culture where honesty and transparency are positive influences on team members to act ethically can only be beneficial.
Trust is a core character trait
Once we travelled the world with little thought for our safety. Now we need to take our boots and belts off to get through he machine that goes "beeeep". The authorities needed to take action so that we would trust the highways in the sky once again.
In the same way, business needs be carried out with an underlying foundation of trust. A leader's word or handshake once sealed the deal. Today, good faith has been replaced by strict regulations. Once trust has been broken, restoring credibility takes additional effort. Learning to earn trust, and valuing it, is a core leadership responsibility.
Character in action is your legacy
Intending to do something counts for nothing. Actions are what counts and will become your legacy. As a leader, you can inspire others to action through a carefully articulated message that is well presented. But you'll laser your message on the hearts of your team when you model your character every day. Fakes and frauds will always be found out in the end. In leadership it doesn't take very long for the flaws to be revealed. The defining difference is that when a leader of character discovers a flaw, they have a strong base to stand on while carrying out the repairs. Without the base of character, the flaw becomes a crack and eventually the crack brings down the leader.
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner of Silicon Valley's Leavey School of Business say "Leaders are judged by how they spend their time, how they react to critical incidents, the stories they tell, the questions they ask, the language and symbols they choose, and the measures they use. Nothing fuels the fires of cynicism more than hypocrisy, and leaders will need to be constantly vigilant about aligning what they practice with what they preach." Their Golden Rule of Leadership: "Do what you say you will do."
You can make a difference
Despite the daily parade of character disasters on the TV news, people still want leaders. In particular, people long for leaders who will demonstrate their character and work with their team's best interests in mind.
These leaders will always attract a following.
More than ever before, character is welded to the DNA of leadership. You can make a difference by carefully building your character. Then, by earning and leveraging your credibility, you can lead more effectively than ever.
Join me in the quiet revolution. Email me and put "I Join" in the subject line ... then it won't feel like a 'revolution of one' any more.