This content was created by Rick Torrison. This content was uploaded by Rick Torrison. This is a YouTube episode titled "Character Matters | Part 1" (Time out for Leadership series) published July 7, 2020. The excerpt is a single-speaker leadership talk/monologue (labeled SPEAKER A) in English in which the host discusses the primacy of character—honesty and integrity—over technical competence for effective leadership. The speaker cites sources (Forbes; Kouzes & Posner), references General Norman Schwarzkopf and Peter Drucker, contrasts pre-COVID hiring market dynamics, and promotes the mantra "hire character, train skill." The segment closes by inviting listeners to a follow-up episode covering four character traits and embracing conflict for growth.
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Welcome back to this week's episode of Time out for Leadership. Thanks again for being part of this growing transformational leadership community and movement. I love to start with a question. When you think about leadership and the qualities of a great leader, what comes to your mind? First, according to a study by Forbes magazine, honesty and integrity are the absolute cornerstones for a great leader. Notice they didn't say anything about excellent technical ability or the knowledge of the job. In a study from leadership experts Kouzis and Posner, they found that honesty is the number one characteristic admired in leaders. General Norman Schwarzkopf was a United States general while serving as the commander of the United States Central Command. He led all the coalition forces in the Gulf War. His life was dedicated to leadership. And he said this. 99% of leadership failures are failures of character. Let's think about this from a business perspective. If you're an owner of a company or you're a hiring manager, what have you found to be the most important factor in hiring great employees? You know, Peter Drucker believed this. He said that of all the decisions an executive makes, the people decisions are the most important. So here's the problem. Most of us, when we're evaluating leaders, we focus too much on competence and too little on character. So let's make it personal. Now, we often think that because we have the best education, experience, knowledge of the job, that we are obviously the most qualified and their therefore the best leader for the position. You know, and in my experience with consulting with companies and working through hiring practices of organizations, the best employees and leaders are not the ones with the most skill, but rather the ones with the highest character. You know, prior to COVID 19 and its impact on the economy and unemployment, there was a flood of qualified candidates in the market. Finding skilled employees wasn't the challenge. What became harder was finding those with the character to match. The mantra was shifting. Hired a character, trained a skill. Unlike skills, character can't be taught. So what does character look like? What qualities define someone with great character? You know, that's a great question. Join us next week for part two as we share four character traits of a great leader who knows how to embrace conflict that leads to great growth.
