Character: The Second “C”
Character is the foundation of trust.
Competence may get you hired, but Character determines whether you can be trusted.
Last time, we explored Competence, the first of the Seven Cs of Team Building. This week, we’re examining Character. While Competence determines whether someone can do the job, Character determines how they will do it.
I’ve worked with extraordinarily talented people throughout my career. But I’ve learned that talent without Character can be dangerous. In fact, the more talented someone is, the more damage they can do when their Character is compromised.
Consider Enron and WorldCom. Both were enormously successful companies filled with intelligent, capable people. Yet both collapsed under the weight of fraudulent financial reporting and failures of leadership integrity. Their downfall wasn’t primarily a failure of Competence. It was a failure of Character.
As John Maxwell famously said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
And nowhere is that more evident than in the Character of an organization’s leaders.
Identifying Character
Character is easy to claim but difficult to evaluate.
Almost everyone will tell you they’re honest, trustworthy, and principled. The real test comes when those values become inconvenient.
When interviewing candidates, I look for examples of difficult decisions. Have they admitted a costly mistake? Told an unpopular truth? Sacrificed a personal benefit to honor a commitment?
Listen carefully. People with strong Character don’t always have perfect stories. They have honest ones.
Character isn’t demonstrated by never making mistakes. It’s demonstrated by what you do when you make them.
When Character Has a Price
Years ago, our team negotiated a significant agreement with a customer. After lengthy discussions, we reached an understanding and shook hands on the deal.
Then we discovered a problem.
We had made a mistake in our pricing calculations. A significant one. Our price was approximately 15% lower than it should have been.
We had a choice.
We could explain the mistake and attempt to renegotiate the agreement. After all, nothing had been formally signed. Or we could honor the commitment we had made, even though doing so would be financially painful.
I remember discussing the situation with my boss, Mike O’Sullivan. We agreed that there was really only one acceptable course of action: Tell the customer the truth and find a way to honor our commitment. Despite being bitterly disappointed, the customer agreed to let us try to solve the problem, and they stuck with us.
The result wasn’t what we had hoped.
The project was delayed by a year, and we ultimately had to find a different supplier to deliver at the agreed price. It cost us time, effort, and considerable frustration.
But something far more valuable happened.
The customer saw how we handled a difficult situation. They knew we had made a mistake, but they also knew we weren’t going to make our mistake their problem.
That customer eventually became one of our most important business partners and an enthusiastic source of referrals.
We didn’t know that would happen when we made the decision. And we certainly couldn’t have justified the decision based on some anticipated future reward.
We did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.
The long-term business benefits were simply a consequence of the trust we had earned.
Rewarding Character
Here’s where leadership becomes critically important.
Organizations frequently reward results without considering how those results were achieved.
The salesperson who exceeds their quota gets promoted, even though they mislead customers. The manager who delivers exceptional profits gets a bonus, despite mistreating employees.
What message does that send?
People pay attention to what leaders reward, tolerate, and punish. Those decisions speak louder than any corporate values statement.
In our pricing situation, Mike could have focused on the mistake, assigned blame, or pressured the team to recover the lost margin at the customer’s expense.
Instead, he reinforced something more important: Our integrity was not negotiable.
That decision taught everyone involved what kind of organization we intended to be.
When someone admits a costly error, tells the truth despite negative consequences, or refuses to compromise their principles, leaders need to recognize and support that behavior.
Don’t just reward people for getting results. Reward them for getting results the right way.
Creating a Culture of Character
Culture begins with leadership.
You cannot demand integrity from your team while making exceptions for yourself.
If you expect transparency, be transparent. If you expect accountability, admit your mistakes. If you expect people to keep their commitments, keep yours.
And when Character is tested, stand behind the people who do the right thing—even when their decision costs the organization money, delays a project, or disappoints a customer.
That is how trust is built.
Culture isn’t established by putting values on a conference room wall. It’s established through the decisions leaders make, especially when those decisions are difficult.
Over time, those decisions create an environment where people know that integrity isn’t simply encouraged. It’s expected.
And that’s a culture worth building.
Three Key Takeaways
- Identify Character. Look beyond credentials and accomplishments. Understand how people behave when doing the right thing is difficult.
- Reward Character. Recognize and support integrity, especially when it comes at a personal or organizational cost.
- Model Character. The standards you demonstrate—and the behavior you tolerate—will ultimately define your culture.
Competence builds capability. Character builds trust. Great teams need both.
Lead with Integrity. Serve with Humility. Develop People Relentlessly.