The Leaders Character

THE LEADERS

CHARACTER

DR. GREGORY L. CRUELL

Copyright © 2015 Gregory L. Cruell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3764-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3763-7 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 10/19/2015

CONTENTS

The What and Why of Ethnos Leadership

Session I

Character and Virtue: The Foundations of Authentic Leadership

Part I: A Perspective on Virtues

Part II: The Authentic Leader and Character Development

Part III: Why Should We Care About Character and Virtue?

Part IV: Ascending to a Virtuous Mindset

A Final Thought Concerning Character and Virtue

Summation of Character and Virtue: The Foundation of Authentic Leadership

Questions for Reflection

Quotes of Principled Leaders

Session II

Ideal Models and Practices of Leadership

Part I: Selecting Best Practices of Leadership

Part II: More Practices for the Practicing Leader

Part III: Collaboration and Community as Practice

Part IV: The Practice of Building

Summation: Ideal Models and Practices of Leadership

Questions for Reflection

Quotes of Principled Leaders

Session III

Proven Principles of Character Development

Part I: Development of Intellect

Part II: Development of Discipline

Part III: Social Development

Part IV: Moral and Ethical Development

Part V: Development of the Human Spirit

Part VI: Five Facets of the West Point Character Development Strategy

Summation: Proven Principles of Character Development

Questions for Reflection

Quotes of Principled Leaders

Session IV

The Other Side of Failure

Part I: Failing Does Not Make You a Failure

Part II: Pursue Excellence, Not Perfection

Part III: Step Back to Step Forward

Summation: The Other Side of Failure

Questions for Reflection

Quotes of Principled Leaders

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank all of the leaders and laborers, both past and present, with whom I have served, and who have lived the principles of this book in conduct and deed. Your influence has made a difference in my life and the development of the Ethnos Leadership process. I am grateful for the relationships that we share, because without relationship, there is no leadership.

To my precious wife for life, and best friend, Deirdre, who has been as Barnabas was to Paul, my God-sent encourager: your love and support have made me a better leader. Thank you.

To my children, Nicole, Stephanie, and Genese, you have been created to make a difference in the world. Always remember that you are all Ethnos Leaders.

To the reader, it is our sincere desire at Ethnos Leadership that in these pages, you will discover additional tools and truth that will assist you in a lifetime leadership journey that will make a difference in the world.

"Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so."

Anonymous

THE WHAT AND WHY OF ETHNOS LEADERSHIP

Leadership and mentorship are the opposite sides of the same coin. For leadership to be authentic there must be mentorship; you cannot have one without the other. Our philosophy concerning this concept is seen in what we call the Ethnos Equation:

Mentorship: Purposeful Relationships +

Accountability = My Professional Responsibility

Mentorship Diagram

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a profession or professionalism as "the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a particular profession." This definition implies that professionalism encompasses a number of different attributes, and, together, these attributes identify and define a professional.

Mentorship is the non-negotiable epicenter of Ethnos Leadership. Mentorship in Ethnos Leadership is the professional responsibility that is acquired and required for organizational health and well-being. At every level in an organization, the leader and the led need a mentor for accountability.

Purposeful relationships are valued, trusted and respected. Bonds or alliances of this manner opens the door to forthright accountability. Being accountable or answerable to a trusted friend, advisor or mentor provides both protection and correction through life and leadership in an environment that is safe because it is trusted and valued. Responsibility simply means cultivating one’s ability to respond to the distinct circumstances and situations of one’s personal and organizational leadership influence via the Ethnos Leadership process (Discover, Develop, Disciple, Make A Difference).

The leader’s professional responsibility is learned and acquired through the evolution of intentional mentorship by virtue of purposeful relationships. Purposeful relationships are rooted in the principle attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi, "Seek first to understand rather than to be understood." Understanding the organization’s goals and the people or team that make the organization function and grow are informed by this basic universal principle.

The word nations in the original Greek is "ethnos." Ethnos may be defined as "a group of people bound together by the same customs, conduct, language, behaviors, or other distinguishing features."

Ethnos Leadership is a principle centered on a self-evaluating, self-reflective leadership development process synergized by a commitment to being and becoming a life-long learner and leader who is determined to make a difference. Our definition of a principle at Ethnos Leadership is "a universal law that is true in any context, situation, or environment."

Ethnos Leadership is a blueprint to reinforce, strengthen, and sharpen existing leadership skills by expanding one’s perspective of leadership. This concept is applicable to a person who has been leading for many years, or to one who is just beginning the leadership journey. Ethnos Leadership is comprised of three modules (character, capabilities, and competencies) and each module has four sessions. At the conclusion of each individual session, participants will create a summary that outlines the principles discovered and a plan for developing these principles. This aspect of the Ethnos Leadership process is the "Personal Leadership Perspective (PLP)."

During week 13, participants will combine their 12 Personal Leadership Perspective summaries to create a cumulative plan or writing of the "Leaders Personal Character Narrative" (LPCN) that initiates Phase V of the process entitled: "Commitment to Investing in Personal and Organizational Transformation." The entire Ethnos Leadership Process is designed to be completed in 13 weeks. The platform is grounded emphatically in self-evaluation and self-reflection. The conclusion of the process is the commitment to a lifetime of discovering, developing and disciple-ing those we lead who are bound together by the Ethnos Leadership process, thus making a difference across nations (ethnos-people’s lives).

This book contains the four sessions of the character module, which encourage the leader to continue discovering the limitless dimensions of expanding one’s character by "Looking into the Mirror," or self-reflection. Character refers to a person’s ethical and moral traits. These traits can be used to assist the leader in developing his/her individuality. The behaviors of a leader are directed by the character traits of the leader. The character of a person is evident, no matter what the situation. Behavior can change, but the nature of character does not.

"The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands."

Anne Frank

For more information about the Ethnos Leadership

Process, contact us via email at: [email protected]

SESSION I

CHARACTER AND VIRTUE: THE FOUNDATIONS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

Foundation

The purpose of this session is to discuss character and virtue, the foundations of authentic leadership. Character and virtue are components of an authentic leader’s quest for a lifetime commitment to leadership development that makes a difference, both personally and organizationally. A Google search of leadership development produces 91,300,000 results. A plethora of information concerning leadership development is available to us today. However, if you take 1000 people, place them in a room, and ask them for one word that could define, describe, or possibly be agreed upon concerning leadership, that one word would be influence.

The National Leadership Index, compiled by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, demonstrates that America’s confidence in her leaders has been significantly below average for the third year in a row.¹ The report on the index findings, entitled, A National Study of Confidence in Leadership, found that over the six-year history of the survey, the dominant trend has been the majority view that America has a leadership crisis, and a concomitant declining confidence in leadership. The study looks beyond political leadership to encompass 12 major sectors of leadership in America.

In 2012, the study indicated that the United States military has the highest confidence level of leadership among American citizens. Nonetheless, according to the 2012 study, sixty-nine percent of Americans still believe there is a leadership crisis.²

Les Csorba, in his book, Trust: the One Thing That Makes or Breaks a Leader, says "leadership is character in motion."³ Csorba goes on to say in his introduction that trust has been shattered in many of our political, ecclesiastical, corporate, financial, familial, and media institutions.⁴ We are reminded frequently on the internet and local newscasts of our current leadership crisis. This is a reminder to the world in which we live that character matters.

The suggestion in this session is that the answer to this leadership crisis is consistent and persistent development of character and virtue, the foundations of authentic leadership. Not everyone will become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, nor will everyone be recognized on national television as a war hero or the leader of an organization that discovers the next technological, world-changing breakthrough of the century. Yet, there are quiet leaders all around us. We know them as our wives and husbands, sons and daughters, our coworkers and neighbors, police officers and firefighters, emergency service personnel, our children’s teachers—great men and women who are making a historical difference in our society because of their influence.

I attribute influence to the ethical values of character and virtue that a person possesses individually, which affects each community, collectively.

One dictionary definition of influence states that it is "The capacity or