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Character and Courage This past week I was privileged to participate in the U.S. Naval Academy's annual
Leadership Conference. Every year a select group of midshipmen and students invited from the other service academies and a wide range of civilian universities get together for three days to explore aspects of leadership; this year's theme was "Leaders of Character." As always, I was amazed and inspired by the intelligence and motivation of these young people, and I'm pleased to report that our future appears to be in very good hands.
There seems to be a boomlet in leadership ethics courses and in research on the topic at academic institutions across the country, and against that background these students are engaged in some serious thinking about what kind of leaders they aspire to be. They are keenly aware of the crisis of leadership today in both the public and private arenas as evidenced by the scandals that populate the front pages - Enron, WorldCom, Abramoff, etc.
Topic Number One for the rest of the conference was established the first night by the keynote speaker, Dr. Rushworth Kidder, who spoke about "moral courage," having recently published a book by that name. He defined it as "the willing endurance of
significant danger in service to moral values," and presented a simple model to explore what that really means. Moral courage, according to Dr. Kidder, is "the catalyst that takes your decisions and turns them into action." Over the next several days, the students and faculty from the Academy's Leadership, Ethics, and Law Department discussed in small groups the idea of moral courage and
how leaders demonstrate it - or not. Drawing on their own experience as leaders in their high schools and colleges, and that of executive participants like myself, the students explored why it is not always that easy to act with moral courage, how to recognize it in others, and how to cultivate it in themselves. They pondered how different value sets in different cultures might affect the practice of leadership, and how they can
help to create a culture of character in their own organizations. There were many thoughtful take-aways from the conference, and I'll note some of them here for you. - It's the "right vs. right" choices that pose the most difficult moral and ethical dilemmas for a leader. How do you choose correctly between justice and mercy, truth and loyalty, individual and community?
- Tolerance for ambiguity
is one mark of courageous leadership, since tough decisions must often be made without complete information. How do you know if you know enough to make a truly moral decision?
- "Do sweat the small stuff" is the best advice for leaders who want to practice moral courage, because it's all the little decisions you make that condition you for making the big ones. Can you ever look the other way when you see
something wrong going on, even if it is seemingly only a little thing?
- Integrity is doing right when there is no one else making you do it. How do you decide what kind of moral choice to make when your decision is totally private, with little or no chance of detection?
- There are many more examples of physical courage than moral courage reported in the media today. Why is that? Is moral courage really in such short
supply in our society, and among our leaders? Should we expect more?
These are big questions and since they are sometimes without solid answers, I expect that I'll be returning to some of these topics in this column in the months ahead. In the meantime, I'll leave you with an observation from another of the conference speakers that really resonates for me. "Leadership," he said, "is about the creation of a soul in an
organization." Coaching can support you in making your own morally courageous decisions as a leader in your organization. Call (410)626-6008, or email info@bloomfieldassociates.com to explore your options.
Reflect on a recent instance when you were required to make a tough decision. How did you assess the moral implications of the choice you had
to make? Which of your core values did you consider in making the decision? How did you explain your decision to yourself and to others who were affected by it? Think of an example of a leader you admire for his good decision-making. How do you think his values influence him? How does he model and communicate those values within the organization on an ongoing basis? |
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The latest Fortune list of best companies to work for notes that even the most employee-friendly firms are trimming back benefits. In 2001, 33 companies on the list paid 100% of employees' health care premiums. Today, only 14 do. Slightly more than 7% of American workers drink alcohol while on the job, and about 9% admit to nursing a hangover in the workplace, according to a recent survey.
Only 6% of CEOs in one recent survey find performance appraisals to be useful. They cite three main reasons for their dissatisfaction: Most systems fail to differentiate between high and low performers, are too cumbersome to use and fail to provide relevant feedback for assessing how well someone actually executes job tasks. 
M-payment Mobile payments - using your cell phone to pay for goods or services - have become commonplace in Asia, but haven't caught on yet in Europe and the United States. That may be about to change as advances in technology and point-of-sale infrastructure are being phased in around the globe. Soon, you will be able to wave your cell phone over a
sensor and your payment will be made instantly, without credit cards or cash. 
 Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the
Future, by Margaret Wheatley. What I like about it: The author recently was the guest of the Washington, DC chapter of the International Coach Federation, and although I wasn't able to attend, I have heard from many who did, and were inspired by her. This book is a favorite of mine, and it offers a user-friendly way to conduct the important conversations we as human beings in the 21st century need to be having with each other.
Beth Bloomfield
Executive Coach, Strategy Consultant
Principal, Bloomfield Associates  The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life, by Lee Eisenberg. What I like about it: The author pulls together a wonderful set of stories that helps the reader internalize the complexity of retirement. He posits MANY things that make you go
Hmmmmmmmmmm. It's good for both coaches and clients.
Lynn Myhal
Executive Coach, Sunnyvale,CA
myhal@earthlink.net Share what you're into - books, articles, movies, music, websites - with others on the list! Send us the title and author or other pertinent information, along with a sentence or two on what you like about it, and if we use it in A Different Optic we'll not only quote you, we'll provide a link to you or your website. |
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"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."
- B. F. Skinner | |
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Beth Bloomfield served as an executive participant at the 2006 United States Naval Academy Leadership Conference in Annapolis on 6-8 February. The conference theme was "Leaders of Character: Conflicts, Dilemmas, and Outcomes." Beth was quoted in a January 2006 article by Rebecca Hastings on "Personal Change Management: When It's Time for a Coach" which appears
online on the website of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM.) The article can be accessed only by members of SHRM. | |
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