Manage with Head, Heart and Good Character Principles

Does your organization hire leaders who can manage with their head, heart and good character principles? When I was in university attending business school learning about how to make decisions and be an effective leader, we were taught the importance of assembling all of the relevant data, analyzing the data and then using logical reasoning to come up with the best plan of action. Much of what we learned was about how to use our head – or our cognitive intelligence (IQ) – to make good decisions.

After graduating, I learned through experience that the ability to implement a well-reasoned decision could be dramatically impacted by the emotions of people involved in the situation. Throughout my career I have encountered many individuals in leadership positions who are brilliant thinkers but had great difficulty understanding people’s emotions and how the emotions in the situation impacted the leader’s ability to influence behavior. Daniel Goleman authored several books on how emotional intelligence (EQ) impacts the ability to lead and influence others and how a robust EQ can enhance a person’s leadership skills.

In 2002, Daniel Kahneman, a Princeton University psychologist, won the Nobel prize for economics for his research that proved that human beings make decisions first for emotional reasons and second for rational reasons. In his recent book – “Thinking Fast & Slow” (Doubleday Canada, April 2, 2013), he explores the systems that our body uses to make decisions and what happens when we think fast versus think slow. This ground breaking research has solidified our notion that both head and heart are critical components in the skill set of an effective leader. However, what is now becoming apparent is that there is a third factor that is just as important as the first two. The third factor is character. Think of it this way – an effective lead should have:

• A strong mind (high IQ);
• A strong ability to influence people on an emotional level (high EQ)
• A strong positive character (CQ)

Here’s the rub – if the leaders only has two of these, the one that can’t be missing is a strong positive character! If the leader is smart and has good intentions and a positive character but lacks the ability to fully understand emotional intelligence and its impact on relationships, they will likely be limited in their ability to influence in all situations. If the leader has strong emotional intelligence abilities and good intentions (a positive character) but lacks a high level of intellect, they may find themselves challenged to see or understand the best decision in a particular situation. However, if the leader has a high IQ and a high EQ and is able to exert tremendous influence but has nefarious intentions, the organization and/or people they’re leading could be in big trouble.

It is somewhat ironic that Napoleon Bonaparte was quoted as saying “great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them”. A leader with great ambition and questionable principles is a scary thought. This brings us to the question of how to mitigate the risk of hiring skilled leaders who have serious character flaws. We need to go beyond the simple interviewing process to identify the character of prospective leaders and focus on how to measure qualities such as the ability to “Energize Internally”.

This important character trait and others can be measured and emphasized as part of a philosophy of building a Personal Leadership Effectiveness Culture that emphasizes CQ (Character Quotient) as much as IQ and EQ. By embedding positive principles into organizational culture, an organization can trust their leadership at all levels which will increase their effectiveness and overall performance.

Does your organization currently have these measurement tools and emphasis in place? I look forward to connecting with you. You can reach me by telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site. Please leave a link back to your own blog as well via the commentluv feature.

Dave

David Town, CHRP, is a facilitator and coach of leadership and management principles that enable individuals and organizations to build greater leadership competency, resulting in higher performance and higher employee engagement. David has a particular focus on effectively managing conversations involving confrontation or conflict. As well, he provides insights and assessment strategies for integrating character competencies into leadership skills resulting in increased trust and reduced risk for leaders. David is President of Your Leadership Matters Inc.