The Ancient Greek root for the word character literally means sharpen, cut in furrows, or engrave. Like people, teams develop the well-worn furrows that dictate how we act in times of uncertainty, and as a leader, you should always nudge your team toward good character.
Often, leaders forget to consider the role of character in their team’s success. This is because we tend to look at character as black and white, making it an unapproachable subject in the workplace. To tell someone you want to improve their character makes it sound like you think they are a liar or a cheat. In reality, striving for good character has an outsized impact on the bottom line – in the right direction. A team that openly talks about and intentionally works on its collective character will outperform others by as much as a factor of five!
Good character on a team creates a culture of trust, motivation, and efficiency. A team that fosters good character exponentially increases trust. People on the team have higher motivation because they feel like they are becoming better people through their exposure to the team. Finally, there is much less friction from people wondering what they should do – instead, they just do the ‘right thing.’
So, how can you instill good team character? In On Character, General McChrystal claims character is the combination of convictions and discipline. That’s a good place to start.
What is Team Character?
We like Dr. Angela Duckworth’s character definition of “everything you feel, think, say, and do.” Her definition aligns with Aristotle’s idea that our thoughts become actions, our actions become habits, and our habits ultimately become our character. While individuals can go through this process of character development, your team also builds a culture with or without good character. Your collective thoughts and actions come to define your team and its performance.
What's the benefit of focusing on team character in business?
Having good team character means we think, feel, speak, and act in alignment with our collective strengths and values. If your team makes regrettable decisions, is unsure of how to act in certain situations, or you all don’t feel like you live up to your potential moment to moment, you have some work to do. When you hold each other accountable to high character standards, you all get closer to your collective potential.
Good character matters because it allows us to show up in the best possible way with our daily thoughts and actions. This matters a lot for team performance. Character alignment drives authentic leadership, deep belonging on a team, and ultimately high performance. Good character also drives trust within a team, as people consistently know what to expect from their teammates.
A tool for evaluating character
We assume your team intends to do the right thing. If you intend to harm others or live out of alignment with your values, you might be vicious or wicked. That’s a whole different story left unaddressed here.
In a week-long collaboration with Travis Manion Foundation and the US Naval Academy, one Midshipman observed that our true character comes out when things get hard. The real ‘us’ becomes clear, and the ‘us’ we wish we were fades. To test your team’s character, take stock when things are difficult. Here are four situations you might find yourself in with your team that could shed light on collective character.
Four key character situations
1. You don't know the right thing to do.
If you and your team find yourselves looking at a challenge and not knowing what to do, start with some reflection on your core values and mission statement. Often we get to tough decisions like turning around before the summit on a team offsite in the mountains, and we refer back to the team charter, an agreement on how the team intends to show up. The sticky decision typically becomes clear.
If core values and mission do not help, your team likely needs to strengthen its critical thinking skills. We have a great curriculum to help. The ability to discern truth and sort it out logically often clarifies the right thing to do!
Ultimately, not knowing what to do comes down to a test of integrity (it’s hard to do the right thing but deep down you know what you should do) or an ethical dilemma (all options seem questionable). Developing better critical thinking will help you navigate dilemmas and isolate tests of integrity.
Another powerful tool for a team facing ambiguity is to have diversity of thought. When many different perspectives are available, you will be a likely to find a good option instead of settling for the least of evils. Hire for diverse perspective and generate psychological safety to allow people to speak up!
2. You know the right thing to do, but you don't do it.
Ok, like me, you ate the entire box of Thin Mints when no one was looking, and you regret it. Good news! Character is trainable. Spending time with other people confronting adversity is the best way to develop your character strengths, which, of course, is part of all our programs. Get an accountability partner or coach, read about habits, and start tracking your character wins. Building strong character for yourself and your team boosts your reliability and impacts foundational trust. When you and your team consistently talk about character and set a high standard, you are much more likely to meet that standard. Just note that character development is a lifelong pursuit. Aristotle pointed out that our character is always improving or degrading. Your team is no different.
3. You end up doing the right thing by accident.
In backcountry skiing, we call this non-event feedback. You pat yourself on the back for being a good person, but you don’t know if you will respond the right way next time. This one calls for some serious reflection and a postmortem on your decisions. You need to be sure you are doing the right things for the right reasons.
Post-mortems can be effective in many different formats. After a tough trip, our guides like to ask, “did we get it, or did we get lucky?” I like the question: “When were we most at risk and what did we (or didn’t we) do about it?” Simple structures like goods, bads, and actionable insights work well too. The key here is to have a structure to debrief any meaningful moment or decision for your team and build in the discipline to do it.
4. You know and do the right thing for the right reasons.
Celebrate. Things feel right when we act in accordance with our stated character. These are the hard decisions that you could not imagine doing differently afterward. Note that character is always getting better or worse, though. One win is just a step on your journey, not permanent good character you can take to the bank.
Build your team character foundation
Rapid growth in your organization tests relationships, strains resources, and creates ambiguity. Building a strong foundation of character can help your team successfully navigate growth and change. Here’s a trail map to help get you started:
- Define your core values
- Define your team’s core values
- Determine the character attributes that are welcome and unwelcome
- Recognize and reward behavior that aligns with your team’s preferred character attributes
- Spend time learning critical thinking
- Spend time learning ethical reasoning
Want to accelerate this process? We can help with custom lessons given on an adventure designed to make the lessons sticky. Take two minutes to design your adventure with this quick survey.
