WHY CHARACTER TRUMPS COMPETENCY

At the Leadership Community, we're passionate about developing leaders. This passion drives everything we do—from podcast episodes to blogs and social media posts.

Our vision is to see leadership communities start and grow everywhere. If you would like to start a community where leaders can be developed in your church or context, we would love to hear from you today!

A common question I get asked when talking to people about leadership development is: are leaders born or are they developed? Like many answers to different questions, we believe the answer is both/and not either/or.

Some leaders are born with a natural set of competencies that lean toward leadership giftedness, e.g. intelligence, temperament, and natural eloquence. Of course, these competencies aren't fixed and can be developed further, but natural ability does exist. In other words, you can't put in somebody what God left out! No matter how hard I try, I will never have the mathematical mind that my younger brother has!

However, a vast amount of our leadership development stems not from our natural ability but from the person we are becoming.

Leadership effectiveness is largely determined by two factors: developing a set of competencies and developing the strength of character.

In our world today, a lot of attention is given to competency. We of course want to see competence when we go to our dentist or doctor! We also want to be led by competent people. A leader who is a 6 out of 10 for competence will never be able to attract or retain people on their team who are 8 or 9 out of 10. As John Maxwell writes, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."

Yet the most important ingredient of leadership development is not competence, but character. Competence is about getting better at doing things. Character is about becoming a better person.

I've learned that it's much easier to develop skill in someone than it is to develop character in someone. This is, in part, why leadership development is about the long game. Or in the words of Simon Sinek, leadership is 'The Infinite Game'. The work of leadership development is never complete because character is never complete.

So, how do we build the types of leaders with strong character who have integrity, humility, courage, and wisdom? This lifetime project can be overwhelming but here are a few ideas to get us started.

1: Practice Character Cultivating Habits

The question is not ‘am I becoming someone?' but rather ‘who am I becoming?'

Here's why this matters: we don't reproduce what we say, we reproduce who we are. The leaders that will develop under your leadership will be, in part, an extension of who you are.

So here's what we need to do: Work twice as hard on developing our character as we do on improving our competency.

What are some character-forming habits you can implement into the rhythm of your life?

As a Christian, one of the most anchoring habits I have woven into my daily life is reading the scriptures. For me, this is not only foundational, it's formative.

So, what formative habit can you insert into your life?

As Aristotle once put it, “We are what we repeatedly do."

2: Study Lives Well Lived

I love biographies of people who made an impact on the world. Whether it be figures who lived centuries ago or people who aren't famous they make an imprint upon me. A big part of character formation is choosing your heroes wisely!

Who has made a positive impact on you? And what was it in particular that they did for you?

For me, one of my heroes is a man who you haven't heard of. He is not famous, at least not on earth. But this man is a constant model for how I view character. His name is Thomas and he is my grandfather.

What inspires me about my grandfather is less about what he achieved externally, but who he was internally. He did accomplish meaningful things in his life, including planting the local church that I now lead decades later. What strikes me about my grandfather is the man he is: wildly generous, humble, hospitable, loving, wise, and courageous to name just a few.

The mark that my grandfather has had on me had little to do with his competence in preaching and everything to do with the character of his person.

For me, this is the ultimate leadership victory: to be a person whom those closest to me respect the most.

The key principle is simple: find people of exceptional character and learn from their example.

If you're a Christian, the Scriptures provide a rich collection of biographical stories we can learn from! One of my favourite books of the Bible is Genesis. Moses didn't write the book of Genesis as a scientific textbook for physics class—instead, in partnership with God, he wrote it as a culturally formative narrative. God knew that the Israelites needed better examples to follow than Pharaoh, so they were given the biographies of Abraham, Moses, and Joseph to provide them with a better template for life and leadership!

Whose life can you study? Pick your examples wisely!

3: Shift from Being Served to Being a Servant

Charisma is not so much about possessing a raw magnetic personality but rather being charismatic is about possessing a genuine heart to serve others.

This is what I have discovered when studying the life of Jesus. What makes Jesus so compelling even to those who aren't card-carrying Christians is how he demonstrated a heart of service. Every miracle, every message, every moment we read about in the four biographies of his life, was postured towards service.

While the life of Jesus represents an unmatched standard, adopting this servant mindset is one of the most powerful ways to become a leader others want to follow.

This posture of a servant is like the king of all keys. You see, when we make our leadership about others, helping others and empowering others, we will become the type of leader others will want to be around.

How can you use your knowledge, platform, influence, wisdom and experience to serve others?

The greatest and most important leadership lesson to learn is, it's not about you.

Your gifting is not about you. Your strengths are not about you. They are simply opportunities to help others rise.

Think about that person who served you by giving their time or offering an opportunity—it made all the difference in the world, didn't it? What if you did that for someone else?

Thanks for your time. I would love to hear your thoughts. And feel free to contact us with any questions you have I'll do my best to get back to you.