Nov

2

2011

TaHL Leadership is Tested through Courage

(This post is excerpt #3 from my free white paper entitled ‘Taking Leaders to a Higher Level.”  Click here to download the entire this free white paper).

If character is the heart of a higher level leader, and competence is her hands, the third virtue of a higher level leader – courage – is the backbone! No one would ever doubt the courage of former POW and current Senator John McCain, who says “a leader without courage is not a leader.”

Courage is defined as the willingness to act upon your convictions. Convictions, as defined by the leader’s character, are the soul-deep belief and values upon which a leader will not bend or break; it is the leader’s moral line-in-the-sand upon which she will not cross.

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Oct

26

2011

TaHL Higher Level Leadership is Built Upon Character

(This post is excerpt #1 from my free white paper entitled ‘Taking Leaders to a Higher Level.”  Click here to download the entire this free white paper).

The starting point is clear. Higher level leadership is first and foremost built upon character.  Aristotle said that “character is that which reveals moral purpose, exposing the class of things a man chooses and avoids.” The US Air Force Academy states that character is “the sum of those qualities of moral excellence that stimulates a person to do the right thing, which is manifested through right and proper actions despite internal or external pressure to the contrary.”

Character, therefore, is the depth of your moral convictions. It is not whether someone has character, for everyone has some character. It is much more a question how deeply ingrained the qualities of character are within the heart and soul of the leader. It is frightening to witness how quickly a once mighty, profitable, and progressive organization can be brought to their knees by leaders of shallow character.

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Oct

19

2011

Should Executives Care About Social Media?

A good friend and an editor of a national trade magazine to which I am a contributing editor recently asked me the following.

“I’d like to write an Editor’s Notes column on the dark side of social media, and I’d like your thoughts about whether it’s worth a [industry omitted] exec’s time to worry about what his employees think of his company–particularly now that they have ways to broadcast their views.”

Here’s my response.

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