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Character Matters, Part 2- Courage

It takes guts to be strong and to speak up.  Let's celebrate the importance of courage as a characteristic that matters.

What is courage?  When I think of Courage I think of the ability and the will to take a stand in the midst of discomfort, opposition, or potential resistance.

Courage matters because it is essential to living out your values and to justice.  Sometimes courage may take a while to well up.  That is OK, stay with it.  Sometimes courage may be beaten down, stay with it.  When courage makes an appearance, it makes a positive difference.

Courage to do the right thing matters and that is why is is essential to good character.  Be courageous and celebrate the development of courage and the courageous acts of other.

Who are you?  How do others describe you?  How do you want to be described.  This week we will focus in on the idea of the importance of character. When I think of a person of good moral character, I think of a person that is trustworthy and able to make good decisions, even in the tough times.  As leaders and mentors of people, having good character is one way our actions speak loudly about our care and concern for people.  When you think of great figures in history  what are the characteristics you use to describe them?  Does Character matter to you?  I'm guessing it does, as characteristic such as courage, consistency, vulnerability, and transparency allow us to build depth in our relationships.  And we are all wired for relationship.  This week we are going to talk about elements of character: Courage, Consistency, Vulnerability, and Transparency.  I hope you will take sometime today to think about the importance of good moral character and will return this week to be a part of our learning journey.

Let's wrap up our week by taking a final look at self-evaluation and blind spots when it comes to communication. In order to know if we are communicating effectively, we need to check in with others and evaluate the outcomes of our communication.  This will help us to avoid blind spots.  We need to read the room when we are communicating, that means we need to understand who our audience is and how they best receive the type of communication we are sharing.

When we take the time to follow-up on how our communication was received, it provides us an opportunity to better communicate in the future.

Let's continue our process of looking inward with a focus of the "how" of communication.

How we communicate can have a huge impact on how the content of our communication is received, retained, and utilized.  For example, think about the last time your cell phone began to ring and buzz to notify you of an emergency in your area or perhaps a time when an emergency public announcement came on the TV.  In both cases, there is a sound that is interruptive, to get your attention, and then a quick concise message with information is shared.  Sometimes the message is shared in speech and writing, and the message may be repeated.   Or think about a training you may have experienced, where there was interaction between participants in addition to shared information and direction from a presenter with materials in presentation and handout format.  All of the examples above demonstrate a deliberate process to communicate.  We also have the opportunity to be deliberate in our communication and to determine how best to communicate based on the circumstances of a situation.  Perhaps, whispering is in order, or a phone call,  or maybe a meeting with a written agenda.  How we communicate is essential to our message being received and utilized.

Tomorrow we will wrap up the week with a look at self-evaluation and blind spots.

Let's continue our process of looking inward with a focus of the "why" of communication.  

We share information for many reasons.  It is important to understand the why or the intent of our communication so that we can choose the best method of communication.  Many times we think of communication as speaking, but we can communicate through pictures, a combination of speech and pictures, or even with sounds.  If our "why" for communication is to to train someone how to to do something, that may inform how we communication. If our "why" is to relay a series of events as a factual reference, it may be important to provide detailed information or to have multiple people share their experience.  In short, knowing the "why" of communication helps to inform not only the content to be shared, but "how" we will share it.  Knowing your "why" of communication will also provide a reference point for the content of what is being shared.  I encourage you  to know your "why" for communication.

Tomorrow we will continue to look at communication and look at "how" we communicate.

Let's continue our process of looking inward with a focus on communication.  When we communicate we often focus on the content or the what of the communication.  Let's take a deeper look at communication with a look at what we communication, why we communicate, and how we communication.

When I was in high school I had a teacher who seemed to have a knack for reducing the number of words I used to communicate an idea.  This taught me that I should be intentional and deliberate with my work choice.  When messages are delivered concisely, they have a good chance to be heard and understood without the distraction of unnecessary details/information that does not add value.  We've all likely had the experience of being in conversation with someone who shares details and information that fail to add any value to the message being communicated.  In some cases there is a reason for the extra information, as a means to set themselves apart in some way that in not substantive to the content being relayed. Effective communication requires that we ensure the focus of what we want to communicate is clearly delivered in a way that the content being shared can be received.

Tomorrow we will continue to look at communication and look at "why" we communicate.

I was recently talking to some leaders and they explained how they continued to get some undesired results.  We talked about the process they were using.  They were insistent that the process they were using was the right process - even though they kept getting the same undesired results.  It reminded me a bit of a story I heard about a person who walked out of their front door every day only to find that they had stepped in the same hole as the day before.  Each time they got out of the hole and walked around.  The next day they stepped into the hole again an repeated the cycle.  They were certain they knew how to walk and could not understand why they kept repeating stepping into the hole.   It seems obvious that walking was not the problem, but the hole needed to be filled!

Sometimes we can be blind to what seems to be obvious.  Sometimes we can work around things, and never truly fix the problem.  Sometimes the problem may be us or something we are doing, especially when the problem repeats itself with the same main character and varied supporting  actors.

When a problem continues to present itself, try to take a fresh look at the situation.  Look at all the similarities of each occurrence and the variances. Then take action to make a change.  Don't forget to look at your role in the repetition, as the problem that needs fixing may just be you.

In addition to communicating metrics and measurements, great leaders model Appreciation and Gratitude.  The use of Appreciative inquiry is an effective method to build upon what is positive.  Appreciative inquiry recognizes what is, seeks to identify what can be, and works to build upon and realize that possibility.

Good Leaders are Culture and Behavior Role Models.  They exhibit the high standards of the interactions and treatment they expect in their organizational environments.  In some settings there can be values that are visual and spoken and not emulated, rendering them powerless.  However, in strong cultures and enduring cultures, there is mutual understanding and respect for the values and behaviors in culture.  Good leaders must also be role models to demonstrate the importance of the expected behaviors and interactions to the organizational goals, mission, and influence.  When leaders fail to model what they expect of others, it creates a disconnect and diminishes trust and respect.

What do we expect of ourselves?  Why do we hold the values we espouse?  What is he value proposition of our behavior for ourselves and others who may look to us for leadership and guidance.  Being a role model is part of being a leader. 

Leaders inspire growth through their example and they encourage growth through appropriately challenging opportunities.