Leadership & Character – The Importance of Caring

The focus of today’s blog is the importance of caring to character-based leadership. There is an old quote by Theodore Roosevelt “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” It is widely accepted that business knowledge is a very important attribute of successful leaders. However, a leader’s business knowledge is only valuable if the leader is able to effectively communicate it so that it will influence the actions of others.

To shine a light on the impact that a caring approach can have on the power of a leader, I’d like to share the story of the leadership and ownership struggles at Market Basket, a grocery retail chain with more than 70 stores located in the eastern United States. As CEO of Market Basket, Arthur T. Demoulas had developed a strong reputation for caring; earned by always making time for employees.

In 2014, Market Basket was working through a family-based power struggle for ownership and control of the company. In June of 2014, the Board of Directors terminated the employment of the CEO. The change in leadership was led by the CEO’s cousin Arthur S. Demoulas, who was the Chair of the Board at the time. At the time it appeared that Arthur T. Demoulas (the dethroned CEO) was the victim of a family power struggle. This is where the story got interesting. Beginning the day after the firing, employees began walking off the job in support of their fired CEO. More people got fired and in the days that followed, as many as 5000 workers refused to show up for work. They would not be intimidated and they wanted to stand up for their caring boss.

In August of 2014, Arthur T. Demoulas completed a deal to buy out his other family members and returned to the helm of the company.

This story compels us to recognize the power of caring for people. An empathetic, caring approach that demonstrates a high level of emotional intelligence (EQ) is a core component of good character. For individuals and organizations to be successful they must find ways to measure character traits such as caring. The MERIT Profile Assessment™ can assist in the process of measuring important character competencies such as “Caring for People”. It also can be integrated into leadership training that emphasizes a philosophy of building a Personal Leadership Effectiveness Culture that reinforces many character traits that are part of building a strong CQ (Character Quotient). By embedding positive principles into the culture, an organization can know that building and nurturing a caring approach is important to leaders at all levels and will increase their effectiveness and overall performance.

Do your leaders consistently demonstrate a caring approach? As always I welcome your feedback and look forward to connecting with you. Let’s get started. You can reach me by telephone or email or leave a comment right here on the site.

Dave

David Town, CHRL, 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.