Leadership and character are one

Ghandi said “One man cannot do right in one department of life whilst he is occupied in doing wrong in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole.” Since many of us today would agree that leadership is influence, we can also see very clearly that other parts of our lives that are not going so well could affect our leadership influence no matter how good we might be in our profession. James C. Hunter states in his book, The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle, “Leadership development and character development are one.” I agree with this statement having core values that we strive to uphold will create boundaries for us to work on. We must continually be working on our character to provide effective leadership. One important ingredient is missing here: the environment in which you lead. These traits are truly “inspirational;” however, a person would be seen as “odd” or “not of the group” and likely ostracized, never able to advance because the environment of the company or organization would not value these traits. It is amazing to me how it is assumed that “positive character” is seen as universally accepted and revered – it is not. It is important for a person to assure that the “environment” lines up with a person’s value system. Some environments may not allow you to lead. This is when you make tough decision to leave those environments. Having the ability to say no when no one is looking is having the strength of character to do the uncomfortable thing,