Be a Piece of the RockLeadership is

Be a Piece of the Rock
Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence – Bernard Montgomery, British Field Marshal
Never “for the sake of peace and quiet” deny your own experience or convictions. – Dag Hammarskjold, Statesman and Nobel Peace Prize Winner.
Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it. Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character, he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences. (4)
1. Character is more than talk. Anyone can say that he has integrity, but action is the real indicator of character.
2. Talent is a gift, but character is a choice. In fact, we create it every time we make choices — to cop out or dig out of a hard situation, to bend the truth or stand under the weight of it, to take the easy money or pay the price.
3. Character brings lasting success with people. Followers do not trust leaders whose character they know to be flawed, and they will not continue following them.
4. Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character. Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of The Success Syndrome, says that people who achieve great heights but lack the bedrock character to sustain them through the stress are headed for disaster. He believes they are destined for one or more of the four A’s: arrogance, painful feelings ofaloneness, destructive adventure-seeking, or adultery.
To improve your character, do the following:
• Search for the cracks. Spend some time looking at the major areas of your life (work, marriage, family, service, etc.), and identify anywhere you might have cut corners, compromised, or let people down.
• Look for patterns.
• Face the music. The beginning of character repair comes when you face your flaws, apologize, and deal with the consequences of your actions.
• Rebuild. Create a plan that will prevent you from making the same mistakes again.