In order to reach excellence one must first be a leader of character. To do this, they must do everything they are supposed to do when it needs to be done.
An organization will not achieve excellence by deciding what it wants to do and have the leader do anything in order to get the job done. Followers cannot just hope that along the way their leaders acted with good character, they must know it.
Character is displayed through a person’s traits. Traits are the qualities or characteristics of a person while character is the sum of all the traits. There are hundreds of personality traits. Many of which demonstrate strong character.
Traits that a leader should possess to demonstrate strong character are honesty, competency, vision, fairness, inspiration, creativity, intelligence, and courage.
Character is not a quality that shows up over night; it develops over time. Many believe that much of a person’s character is formed early in life. Nobody knows exactly how early it develops, but it is safe to say that character does not change quickly.
A person's behavior displays their character. Strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve. The leader sees what they want and goes after it. They attract followers.
A person with weak character is exactly the opposite; they show none of the traits listed above. They do not know what they want their traits are disorganized, and will not attract followers.
Followers learn by example. If their leader demonstrates strong character, they are instilling the motivation and desire in their followers to have the same strong character.
