The post below is from my friend and mentor Michael Dlouhy. If anyone knows what it takes to be an effective leader, he does.
“When a great leader falls because of a lack of integrity, it is
very painful for all involved. Tearing another person down to
build yourself up, only leads to a false impression of yourself.
When someone is tearing others down in front of You this is
a guarantee they will do the same to You behind Your back.
Ultimately you will crash and burn from your lack of character.
The question is:
Would You Want This Person As Your Sponsor ?
Life can give us challenges in many areas of our life. How we
handle those challenges ourselves and who helps us, can
determine our success or failure. Loyalty to do the right thing
enters into all decisions. Friendships built on loyalty and trust
are like support beams for a foundation.
A foundation is the beginning. This applies to your marriage,
your friendships, your home and your business. If you build
them correctly, they will sustain you your lifetime. If you
build carelessly everything will crumble around you.
Leaders are built. Day by day, Lesson by lesson. When a
leader chooses to fall, they sacrifice their integrity, their
honor and their character.
If after knowing the facts and fully utilizing their “critical
thinking skills” when someone decides to leave Your Team
please wish them all the best.
Excerpt from “Launching a Leadership Revolution”
Foundational Leadership Quality: Honorable
Integrity can be considered as the condition of “not doing
what’s wrong.” Character can be defined as doing the right
things, for the mere reason that it is the right thing, even if
that thing is difficult and unpopular.
The two sewn together make honor. Author Jeff O’Leary,
in The Centurion Principles, writes, ” ‘Honor’ encompasses
the virtues of integrity and honesty, self-denial, loyalty, and
a servant’s humility to those in authority above as well as a
just and merciful heart to those below.”
Honor is such a rarely used word in our times that it seems
a little old-fashioned. But living a life of integrity and character
is timeless and, for a leader, absolutely necessary. It’s about
choices, and a person’s choices in life follow him to the grave.
Is this to say that a person needs to be perfect to become a
leader? Of course not. Perfection in this life is not possible,
and we, the authors, are certainly not exceptions. However,
a leader must strive continually toward perfection even though
she knows she can never exactly attain it.
It is a question of the heart. The most effective leaders through
out history have led with their hearts, in trust, and with honor.
If a leader cuts corners, misuses people, or misrepresents, the
truth, a time bomb begins ticking. Someday, somewhere, the
bomb will go off. It is obvious in our times only too often: public
figures at the pinnacles of power and fame crash and burn in
the cloud of self-inflicted shame. From political scandals to
high-profile corporate frauds, these calamities are brought
on by a lack of honor in the leadership.
“Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
The difference between leaders we revile and those we praise
is their individual level of honor. In fact, honor is the force that
holds a leader’s hunger in check.
Without honor, hunger runs rampant and ultimately serves
only selfish interests. Honor is the component that makes
hunger productive for the leader’s fellow man. In fact, what
we are basically describing here is another “old-fashioned”
word: duty.
George Washington said of duty, “Human happiness and
moral duty are inseparably connected.” So leadership is
spawned by hunger and held in check by honor.
Under that combination, leaders will find happiness in the
fulfillment of their duty to others. It has been said that the
character of a man is the only thing that will walk back
from the grave into the hearts of the people who knew him.
That is the legacy of a leader. The words a leader say and
the walk a leader walks must match. As the saying goes,
“Your word is your worth and your worth is your word.”
Andy Stanley, author of The Next Generation Leader, says,
“To become a leader worth following you must give time and
attention to the inner man.
To leave a legacy that goes beyond accomplishment alone,
a leader must devote himself to matters of the heart.”
Character is developed in the valleys and the peaks of life,
enabling a person to overcome obstacles and deal with
success.
Abraham Lincoln observed, “Nearly all men can handle
adversity, but if you really want to test a man’s character -
give him power.” Character connects a person to what is
right and true.
If reputation is what others think of you, then character is
what God knows about you. This concept of honor is so
important to a leader because people will follow a leader
only as far as they feel they can trust him.
People will not follow a leader they can’t trust. According
to R. Ruth Barton, “We set young leaders up for a fall if
we encourage them to envision what they can do before
they consider the kind of person they should be.
” Warren Bennis tells us, “In the leadership arena,
character counts. I am not saying this casually, of studies,
observations, and interviews with leaders and with the
people near them…. I’ve never seen a person derailed
from [leadership] positions for lack of technical competence.
But I’ve seen lots of people derailed for lack of judgment
and character.” And, as Heraclitus said, “Man’s character
is his fate.” Finally, it should be remembered that a major
component of honor is personal courage.
Without the courage to do what’s right because it’s right,
regardless of ramifications to self, one is not truly worthy
to be called a leader.
When people don’t “Believe” they deserve Success they
will self destruct every time…. This is the reason we tell
everyone we meet to “Participate” in the 30 Day Mental
Cleanse if You want to own Your life.”
by Michael Dlouhy
828-423-7342
