Dave Anderson's Blog, page 15

The Difference Between Criticism & Input

“That’s enough Lieutenant Anderson!”

I sat down and stayed quiet for the rest of my battalion commander’s weekly meeting.  I saw the smirk on our operations officer’s face.  As I walked out of the room later, a friendly captain patted me on the back, shook his head and told me not to give up.

I would often be the only lieutenant in these meetings full of higher ranking officers.  I was there to fill in for my boss.

Half the time I would throw out a challenge, the Colonel would say “Why am I only hearing this from a LT.  Why didn’t one of you Captains or Majors bring this up.”  The other half of the time I was shut down quickly.

My father, a retired General and a Vietnam veteran always told me, “Take care of your soldiers and they will take care of you.”  That was always my goal.  But, it did not always go over well.

At first I thought it was because I did not “play the game”.  I was not politically savvy.  I just wanted to do what was right for my soldiers.  As a result, I challenged a decision if I thought it was not in the best interest of the men.

I didn’t just complain.  I brought solutions to the table.  I used to think that as long as I brought solutions, my comments were helpful.

It was not until I left the Army and looked back at those meetings that I understood why my commander’s reactions would be so different on different days.

Timing-  The Difference Between Criticism and Input

Input occurs before the decision has been made.  Criticism occurs afterwards.

As a young, overly confident 25 year old lieutenant, I was not wise enough to understand that the timing of my remarks made a big difference.

If a decision is still being discussed, as a leader, no matter what my rank, I should speak up and offer solutions to improve the outcomes.

But if the decision is made, all I am doing with those exact same comments, is throwing sand in the gears and slowing down progress.

I may not agree with the decision, but it is my responsibility at that point to implement the strategies that come from above, to the best of my abilities.  Unless…

Never Stay Quiet When It Is A Moral or Legal Issue

Timing does not matter when a leader is dealing with a moral or legal issue.  If a decision is immoral or if it is unlawful every leader has a Duty to speak up.  This takes Courage if I am a lower ranking leader. But my rank does not relieve me of my responsibility to speak up.  Leaders lead.  Period. That is our Duty.

The Bottom Line:

The lessons I learned as a young officer in the Army prepared me for the business world.  I am still not into the politics of the office.  I still speak up.  But I know that the timing of my comments is important.

Timing is often the only difference between what is seen as valuable input and what is seen as criticism.  I will always argue for a better way if the decision has not been made yet.  But, once it is made, it is time for me to follow.

If I decide to continue to speak out after the decision, I must be sure I am not fighting just because I have a different opinion.  That is not good enough.

After a decision is made, I have a Duty to fight for moral and legal issues.  Otherwise, my Duty becomes to support the decision made by my leaders.

Question:

Are you in the habit of doing your Duty and speaking up at the right time?

Not sure where your character stands?  Take the FREE and PRIVATE My Mirror Character Assessment below.  It will take 5 minutes and you will get instant feedback!

www.MYCHARACTERTEST.com

 

 

You Can Be An Unethical Rule Follower

I pushed the limits as a cadet at West Point. I marched well over 100 hours of punishment tours during my four years in school. There were a lot of ways to get in trouble, and a lot of rules to tell us what not to do.

Every violation of the rules at West Point had a title that described the offense. The most unique title for a violation of the rules was “Gross Lack of Judgment.” Basically it was a catch all phrase that meant a cadet did something that no one had anticipated needing to create a rule to prevent!

Intent to Deceive?

Gross Lack of Judgment

“Gross Lack of Judgment” was West Point’s way of acknowledging that no leader or organization can create enough rules to prevent every bad behavior possible. If a 200 year old institution built on character and discipline can’t create enough rules to keep every poor behavior in check, what makes any of us think we can?

Following The Rules Is Not Enough

Just because I follow the rules, it does not necessarily make me a person of high character. Following the rules is a good indicator of high character, but each of us can be unethical and still follow the rules.

TV lawyers make it seem ethical to do whatever it takes to win as long as there is not a rule against it. Many people believe that in real life as well.

Athletes will attempt to deceive a referee by pointing in the opposite direction even if they were the last person to touch the ball. There is no rule against that. But is it ethical? What does it tell you about the athlete’s character?

A salesperson may recommend a more expensive product that has features well beyond what the customer actually needs. There is no rule against that. But is it ethical? What does it tell you about the salesperson’s character?

The key question we all must ask ourselves is:

“Was there an attempt to deceive someone else?”
The Bottom Line:

I crossed many well defined lines and got in trouble at West Point. The Academy that’s been developing leaders of character for two centuries recognizes that some bad behavior is not defined by rules. That is why they have the violation titled “Gross Lack of Judgment”.

I am always wary of people who say things like, “There is not a rule against it.” That is a pretty low standard to clear. If I choose to be in a business or personal relationship with someone, I choose to associate with people who will do the right thing whether a rule exists or not.

To truly be a man of character, I must demonstrate character when the rule book does not help.

To truly be a man of character, I must draw my own line when no line has been drawn for me.

What kind of shape is your character in?  Take the following FREE and PRIVATE My Mirror Character Assessment by clicking here:

www.mycharactertest.com

Question:

What ethical failures have you encountered that are not covered by the rules?

Becoming a Leader of Character – Six Habits that Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers.

Try these links:

Amazon:  bit.ly/LOCBook

Barnes and Noble:  Becoming a Leader of Character

West Point’s Prayer for Leaders on July 4

Thirty-two years ago this week, I entered the United States Military Academy at West Point as part of the Class of 1988.  This week the Class of 2020 began their journey as part of the “Long Gray Line”.

In honor of Independence Day and the men and women who serve so we can have the freedoms to speak and to pray as we see fit, I am publishing The West Point Cadet Prayer.

Before you read it, ask yourself: “What challenge does this prayer offer me?” Whether you are a person of faith or not, I think you will find a challenge meant for you.

The Cadet Chapel at West Point

Duty – Honor – Country. These are the three core values that West Point has stood for over the last two centuries. The West Point Cadet Prayer is used by graduates as a reminder of those values and other values that are meant to form the character our nation’s future leaders.

The West Point Cadet Prayer

“O God, our Father, Thou Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to Thee in sincerity and truth. May our religion be filled with gladness and may our worship of Thee be natural.

Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing and clean thinking, and suffer not our hatred of hypocrisy and pretense ever to diminish.

Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won.

Endow us with courage that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice and knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy.

Guard us against flippancy and irreverence in the sacred things of life. Grant us new ties of friendship and new opportunities of service. Kindle our hearts in fellowship with those of a cheerful countenance, and soften our hearts with sympathy for those who sorrow and suffer.

Help us to maintain the honor of the Corps untarnished and unsullied and to show forth in our lives the ideals of West Point in doing our duty to Thee and to our Country. All of which we ask in the name of the Great Friend and Master of all.  Amen”

Question:

How many different character challenges does this prayer present to leaders?

West Point – Plebe Boxing and Leadership

Every male freshman (plebe) entering West Point has a mandatory class that few other colleges offer much less require.  Boxing.

Each morning that boxing was on my schedule I woke up thinking about it.  I would sit in calculus, chemistry or computer programing class thinking about boxing.  It didn’t matter that I had tests or other graded exercises in those classes.  Boxing dominated my thoughts.

But First–Calculus

I knew that day, no matter how well I did when I stepped into the ring, I was going to get hit multiple times in the face.  What did I learn during plebe boxing that prepared me to lead?

What Plebe Boxing Does For Future Leaders

Most 18 year olds entering West Point have never faced this type of fear.  It is the fear of physical pain.  I had to face that fear multiple times a week.

I had to step into the ring, fight a classmate, and maintain proper boxing form. I had to be aggressive yet keep my composure in spite of the fear and the anger that always arose.

As my father, the man who ran the Physical Education Department at West Point for 24 years always said, “This is the closest a cadet can come to feeling the fear they will feel prior to battle.”

Part of our grade was based on our boxing prowess.  The other part of our grade was based on our ability to hold our ground, fight back, implement the boxing skills we were taught and maintain our cool.

As a young officer, about to face the enemy the requirements were similar.  I had to function despite my fear.  I had to step forward into a dangerous situation and fight using all the skills I learned during training.  I had to make tactical decisions and maintain my cool despite the fear.

The one big difference was that if I failed in the boxing ring, I got yelled at, failed the course and possibly could be separated from the Corp of Cadets.  As a young officer the consequences were higher.  People could die.

Looking back on plebe boxing I see that this was a pattern of training West Point used to build leaders of character. West Point trained us by building habits that would build our character.

My habits determine my character.  Habits are formed one decision at a time.  Every other day for 8 weeks, I had to choose to face my fears and box.  Each time I chose to react as I was trained to react in the ring, I was creating a habit of facing my fears.

The Bottom Line:

Courage is one critical aspect of character all leaders need to develop.  Plebe boxing was one tool West Point used to build this character trait into each cadet.

There are other habits that I need to adopt in order to be a leader of character:  Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty and Positivity are a few.  Each of these positive habits develops one decision at a time.

With each choice I make, I make it easier to choose that same path again.  The same can be said for negative habits as well.  Our habits stem from the choices we repeatedly make.

What choices do you repeatedly make that shape your character.  Take the FREE and PRIVATE My Mirror Character Assessment below.  It will take 5 minutes.

www.mycharactertest.com

Plebe boxing teaches cadets more than how to take a punch.  It teaches them how to develop the positive habits they need to be a leader of character.

If habits form my character, then I can begin to make new choices today to change those habits and thus change my character.  This is how West Point develops leaders of character, by training them to create habits with each choice they make.

Question:

What new choices can you make today to build new habits and thus strengthen your character?

Confident Leaders Invite Arguments

“Argue with me.” He said it, AND he meant it. As I watched this leader invite his team to tear down his idea, I was astonished, inspired and humbled.

Astonished: Because I had never seen a leader so readily open to criticism from the people he led.
Inspired: Because I watched his team argue passionately for and against the leader’s point of view.
Humbled: Because I realized I am not always confident enough to have my ideas torn down by others.

Will you listen?

It Was Astonishing

I was a young leader when I witnessed this event. Up to that point, I thought that it was foolish to challenge a leader’s ideas. When he said “Argue with me.” I thought it was a dare. Who was dumb enough to take that dare?

I didn’t know that this was standard operating procedure on his team. He would bring up a point or an idea and then invite people to disagree. He was more interested in getting to the best solution than he was in getting his way.

It Was Inspiring

As I watched his team interact, I knew I wanted that type of openness on my team. The passionate back and forth that ensued could only have happened if the leader was willing to let it happen.

I wanted to be the type of leader that led a team of leaders. A team of leaders will always work for the best solution and be passionate about their individual point of view.

But once a decision is made, a team of leaders gets behind the final decision and implements and supports the decision as if each leader had been the architect of the final solution.

Not only did this leader get the best solutions the collective team had to offer, he also got the buy-in that comes from allowing people to be heard and feel like they were a part of the process.

It Was Humbling

I was humbled when I realized I misunderstood the root cause of his confidence. He was not daring people to argue with him because he was so sure he was right. He was inviting people to argue with him because he knew he could be wrong, and he was okay with that.

That brought me to a realization that my need to be proven right often got in the way of my ability to lead the people on my team. Because I was not confident enough to allow people to prove me wrong, I was damaging the trust, the results, and the leader development within my team.

This leader’s confidence:

Built trust – because he displayed his own willingness to adapt if a better solution was available without regard for the title of the person who shared the idea.
Improved results – because the best solutions were always on the table for discussion not just his solutions.
Developed leaders – because he gave each person the opportunity to develop strategies and defend those strategies within the group. By doing this, future leaders were trained to evaluate decisions through multiple point’s of view and not just their own.

The Bottom Line:

When he said “Argue with me.” He was challenging his team to be the best they could be as individuals and as a group. His self-image did not ride on “being right.” His self-image was determined by the trust, the results and the growth of the individuals on his team.

Was I astonished? Yes!
Was I inspired? Yes!
Was I humbled? Yes!

But after I was astonished, inspired and humbled, I became determined.

I became determined to no longer allow my need to be right to get in the way of my team being one characterized by trust, results and growth.

I truly believe this leader created a great team and a strong culture by just saying “Argue with me.”

If you don’t agree with me, then argue with me. Please!
Question:

How willing are you to be argued with? Are you willing to change your point of view if a better solution is offered?

Do you have the Humility it takes to allow your people to disagree with you?  Take the My Mirror Character Assessment and examine your character.  IT’S PRIVATE and IT’S FREE!

www.mycharactertest.com

The Negativity That Limits Your Ability to Lead

Positivity or negativity? It boils down to making a choice. The attitudes we display go a long way in determining what type of leader we are and how many followers we have.

Do we choose our attitudes or do we let our circumstances or other people choose them for us? Do we choose to focus on others or on ourselves? Do we choose to look for solutions or look problems? Our attitudes have been and always will be a matter of choice.

My father once made the now famous comment to me, “Your attitude is a choice. Make a different choice.” That statement is famous because of the popularity of an old blog post titled Your Attitude is a Choice. (Click the title to read that post.)

The truth of that statement should affect the choices we all make when it comes to our attitudes. If anyone ever tells you they can not control their attitude – they have bought into a lie. People in difficult circumstances choose Positivity every day.

Hospice nurses who see nothing but suffering and death yet choose to be a light in everyone’s time of darkness.
Spouses who have a husband or wife deployed year after year, yet choose to cheerfully support the deployed spouse and run a household alone during those deployments.
Parents who lose a child unexpectedly, yet smile through their grieving and recovery and become an example for everyone around them.

Sometimes our circumstances are difficult. But, very few of the people I know who walk around with a negative attitude are dealing with something close to what I described above. Positivity or negativity? It boils down to making a choice.

The Results of Our Choices

Positivity and negativity are both habits. Each time we make the choice between them, it makes it easier to make that same choice again. Each time we whine about our circumstances, it becomes easier to do it the next time. Each time we focus on the problems in someone’s ideas, we are more likely to that again as well.

Pretty soon, as a result of regularly choosing negativity, we become a Joy Sucker. Wherever we go, whether we know it or not, people stop wanting to spend time with us. Why? Because we suck the joy out of their existence.

People who dwell in the world of pessimism rarely attract enthusiastic followers. They usually attract other joy suckers. If a leader is a gifted pessimist, he often spawns more pessimists but few followers.

A Leader of Character exercises Positivity even when things are difficult. That does not mean a Leader of Character lives in a fantasy world.

It just means he will see opportunities where others see road blocks. It means he will choose to encourage people who are struggling instead of adding to their misery. It means he will not let his feelings dictate his reactions to any situation – good or bad.

The Bottom Line:

Negativity is a habit that drives people away from us. If we choose negativity on a regular basis, we are choosing to be a person others wish to avoid. We limit our ability to lead if we are driving people away from us instead of drawing them towards us.

But it all boils down to a choice. The definition of Positivity my father, General James L. Anderson and I use in our book Becoming a Leader of Character is:

Displaying a positive and/or can-do attitude in all circumstances.

That type if attitude is a choice that becomes easier each time we make the choice. People who choose Positivity in the day to day challenges of life, will find it is easier to choose Positivity when our teams or our families need it most.

Unless we make Positivity a Habit of Character we consistently choose, we will likely be a lonely individual and an ineffective leader. We decide. Positivity or negativity?

Question:

What circumstances have you chosen to allow to affect your attitude?

If you want to privately examine where your own character can grow – where your strengths and weakness may be – take the My Mirror Character Assessment.  It’s FREE!  Just click on the link below and take 5 minutes to look at yourself in the mirror.

Click here:  http:/mycharactertest.com

Culture Is The Leader’s Job

Politics.  Gossip.  Back stabbing.  Whining.  Distrust. Selfishness.  Bad Attitudes.  Work environments characterized by one or more of these traits are miserable places to work.

I often run into leaders that know they are leading teams that have these issues.  Unfortunately some of these leaders fail to realize that the cultures of their teams are the results of their leadership.  Or more accurately, their lack of leadership.

Letting Culture Happen

Every organization develops it’s own unique culture.  It is inevitable.  A leader has a choice to let culture just happen or to intentionally influence the culture the leader wants to create.

The thermodynamic term entropy states that a system left to itself tends to breakdown.  Whether establishing a new team or leading an established team, if attention is not given to the culture of that team, it will soon begin to breakdown.

Too many leaders focus on everything but culture.  Problems like performance counseling, mediating issues among teammates, and solving problems way below their level can consume a leader’s focus.

The ironic thing is with a strong culture a lot of the issues these leaders deal with will diminish.

3 Ways To Make Culture Happen

Leaders.  Make it happen!  Don’t let culture happen without you controlling it.  The leader can control the atmosphere and the character of the organization.  But, it must be intentional and consistent.

1.  The Right Values

Are your values valuable?  Do they mean anything to your people or are they just words on a poster or website.

I am not a big fan of the word culture anymore.  It has become watered down to include casual Fridays and other perks at work.  I like the term organization character.

Organizational character describes a team’s demonstrated values.  How a team acts on a habitual basis – towards each other and towards it’s customers.  That is a team’s character.

Words like Integrity, Courage and Character are rarely defined in an organization’s value statements.  Therefore, people interpret them differently in similar situations.

Here is one company’s description of what integrity looks like in practice:

Integrity In Practice at Acme Inc.:

We will keep our promises to our customers and to each other.
We will speak with candor and in a straightforward manner.
We will be responsible for our actions and the actions of others on our team.
We will always challenge a potential integrity issue.
We will determine what the right thing to do is and do it, no matter our circumstances.


2.  The Right Communication

The leader must communicate what good looks like.  When people are faced with a challenge to their integrity, how will they respond?

Case studies that challenge our ideas about Integrity prepare us for when temptations come.   Example:

“Your boss closes the door to your office and tells you to change the date on a big purchase by one day in order to get it on the previous month’s budget.  You know it will help last month’s sales, but it will also put the team behind in the new month.  What should you do?”

Leadership and values discussions can happen at the start of each meeting.  One case study with some good probing questions will only take 15 minutes. But it will go a long way towards establishing and reinforcing what the leader believes is important.

Without these discussions, values tend to be theoretical not practical.  Case studies and reading articles, blogs or chapters in books will allow people to prepare for the challenges to come.

As a leader, it is my responsibility to prepare my people for those challenges.  If someone has never discussed or even thought about what they might do when they are challenged at work, I am gambling that they will do the right thing at the moment of truth.

Here is a link to a previous post that may help: Building Leaders With A Blog

3.  The Right People

I was recently in a meeting with a client who asked me what they should do about a talented yet caustic employee.  My answer:  “It depends on how much you value your culture.”  This company has a great culture, but one poisonous apple.

Talent does not trump character.  If I allow someone’s talent to outweigh their character, I am giving up control of the culture of my team.

We have all been there.  That one person who bullies, complains, or lacks work ethic can bring down everyone around them.

As a leader I must realize that talented people are not hard to find.  People of character are. 

The Bottom Line:

If I lead a team, I am responsible for its culture.  Even if the larger organization is dysfunctional and does not demonstrate the values it claims, I can still influence the culture of the team I am responsible for.

Having the right values, communicating them consistently and having the right people on the team are all in my control, no matter what level leader I may be.

Leaders!  Don’t let culture just happen!  Take control of what you can control and make culture happen.  If you do, your people will thank you. 

They will thank you for creating an environment where politics, gossip, back stabbing, whining, distrust, selfishness, and bad attitudes are not tolerated.  It will be a place they love to come to work and a team you love to lead.  It is in your control!

Question:

What was the best team you ever worked on?  What did that leader do to create that culture?

The Unreliability That Limits Your Ability to Lead

Unreliability or Duty? It’s a choice. Do we choose to do what needs to be done, or just what we want to do? Do we choose to follow through on all our commitments or flake out? Do we choose to give our best in all areas of our jobs, or just the part we really enjoy?

The business world may call this accountability. But I use the term Duty, as do our heroes who serve in the military. Understanding what our Duty is does not have to be complicated – especially as a leader.

The Choices We Make

What choices do we make when we are tempted to take the easy way? When we are tempted to do what we want to do instead of what we need to do?

Are we people who can be counted on to do our Duty in every circumstance? To evaluate that, we have to look at our choices. The choices we make on a regular basis become habits. The good habits and the bad habits we develop, based on those choices determine our character.

There are six Habits of Character I believe are foundational to becoming a Leader of Character: Courage, Humility, Integrity, Selflessness, Duty and Positivity. They are all developed much like a muscle – through consistent exercise.

If you are interested in seeing how those muscles have developed in you, take this FREE My Mirror Character Assessment by clicking on the link below. It is confidential, and you can get a feel for how well developed the Habits of Character are in your life.

Click here:  http:/mycharactertest.com

Choosing Duty is not Easy

There is nothing about developing character that is easy. But if we want to become the Leaders of Character our businesses, our families, and our culture needs, we have to be willing to put in some effort.

No one gets in shape by going to the gym occasionally or reading a fitness magazine. We have to actually make the choice to regulary exercise and push ourselves beyond what is comfortable. That is how you build muscle. That is also how you will develop the habit of Duty.

The Definition of Duty we use in our book Becoming a Leader of Character is:

Taking action based on our assigned tasks and moral obligations

Preorder book here:  bit.ly/LOCBook

It is hard to:

Do the things you should do even if you don’t feel like doing them.
Do things not in your job description that still need to be done.
Do the boring administrative parts of your job with the same care and commitment as the fun parts.
Take the time to mentor someone when you have your own work to do.

None of these choices are easy. But they are the right choices to make. The more we exercise Duty, the more that Duty becomes one of our Habits of Character. Habits are formed one choice at a time.

Each time we make the choice to do our Duty, by acting on our assigned tasks and moral obligations, the more reliable we become. The more reliable we are, the more people will trust us and therefore follow us.

The Bottom Line:

If we can’t rely on someone to act on both his/her assigned tasks or moral obligations, we will think twice about following them. If we are unreliable as a leader our people at work, and our families at home may have the same reaction.

An unreliable leader is not a Leader of Character. A Leader of Character acts on his/her assigned tasks and moral obligations because it is his/her Duty to do so. How they feel about that task or how they feel at that moment does not make the choice for them. They choose to do their Duty.

It all comes down to our choices. The choice is ours – unreliability or Duty. One hurts our ability to lead. The other helps us become the Leader of Character our teams, our loved ones, and our culture truly need us to become.

Question:

What commitment do you wish you hadn’t made – yet still need to follow through upon?

Making Your Brand Not Suck! – Interview with Mario Martinez Jr. & Dave Anderson on IMPACT Talk Radio

Dave Anderson interviews Social Selling Evangelist Mario Martinez Jr. Show #2 – Topic: Making Your Brand Not Suck. (30 minutes)

Social Selling Evangelist and Keynote speaker Mario Martinez of M3Jr Growth Strategies. Learn more at www.m3jr.com.

All past and current podcasts also available on iTunes. (Over 5 Million downloads to date!)

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Listen Here:

http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/www.toginet.com/podcasts/impacttalkradio/ImpactTalkRadioLIVE_2016-06-08.mp3

Or download the podcast by clicking here and listen later!

Order Dave Anderson’s new book:

Becoming a Leader of Character –

Six Habits That Make or Break a Leader at Work and at Home 

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The Selfishness That Limits Your Ability to Lead

Selflessness or selfishness. We all make daily choices that prove we are selfish or selfless. As a leader, if our decisions display our selfish nature, then we are unlikely to have committed followers.

If you really want to understand what type of character someone has, look at the choices they make on a habitual basis. When faced with choosing what THEY want versus what may be best for others, what do they choose? Selflessness or selfishness?

Leaders of Character understand some things about leadership that selfish leaders do not.

The leader is there for the led and not vice versa.
It is not the role of the leader to get his way, but to find the best way.
If the leader is not developing his people, he is not leading.

I believe Selflessness  is a Habit of Character that we can all develop. We develop Selflessness and every Habit of Character in the same way – through consistently making the choice to act selflessly.

The definition of Selflessness that my father and I unpack in chapter 7 of our book Becoming a Leader of Character (Pre order here:  bit.ly/LOCBook) is:

Putting the needs of others before my own needs, desires or convenience

The Daily Choices

What do our choices display? Do we choose our own needs, desires or convenience over what is best for another person?

When faced with these choices, other Habits of Character are involved. It takes both Courage and Humility to put aside our own needs, desires or convenience in order to exercise Selflessness.

I use the verb “exercise” because that is in fact what we are doing. Each time we perform a selfless act, it is like building a muscle at the gym – that muscle gets stronger.

Think of it like reps in the gym when we are lifting weights. With each choice we make – each character rep – we are strengthening our character.

If we choose to exercise Selflessness, we are also strengthening our Courage and Humility, similar to the way a bench press works not only the chest, but also the shoulders and the triceps.

We do not get stronger and more fit by exercising every once in awhile. We gain strength and fitness with consistent exercise.

We will not become a selfless Leader of Character by periodically putting the needs of others before our own needs, desires and convenience. It must be done regularly to become a Habit of Character and to be strong enough to rely on when we face the big tests in life and in leadership.

If you want to see where your character is right now, take the following online My Mirror Character Assessment. IT FREE! And no one sees the results but you.

Click here:  http:/mycharactertest.com

The Bottom Line:

Selfishness is a choice. Selflessness is a choice. Each time we choose our own needs, desires or convenience over the needs of the people we lead, we damage our ability to lead them.

With every choice we make, we take a step closer to becoming a Leader of Character, or we take a step further away. If you are looking in the mirror right now and realizing you have been making selfish choices and losing the commitment of those you wish to lead, there is great news!

You can begin to change your character today! You can make a new choice and start developing the muscles called Selflessness. It won’t be easy. Those first workouts never are. But we never get in shape unless sweat is involved do we!

To BE a Leader of Character, we must begin to DO the things Leaders of Character do. We must put aside our own selfish natures and place the needs of others first.

This is a choice. Each time we make that choice, it makes it easier to make that choice again. That is how all habits are formed. That is how a Habit of Character is formed. That is how Selflessness is formed. That is how we become a Leader of Character.

Question:

What part of selfishness is hardest to fight – your needs, desires or convenience?