Overview and Objectives

In this lesson, leaders will understand the role that character plays in good leadership as they discover how to understand the outcome gap, maximize the benefits of feedback, measure the fit between the task and their skills, assess their contentment factor, and evaluate themselves as leaders. “Leaders need to know the areas of personal and interpersonal growth that will help them continue to grow as leaders,” Cloud and Townsend say. “This is an area of leadership that has been overlooked for too long.”

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Diagnose where you are so you can decide where you want to go.
• Identify three components a successful leader must have.
• Understand fully what it means to have character.
• Identify your “gap.”

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
Reflect on the meaning of the word "character". Prior to viewing this lecture, what was your perception of the word’s meaning? Has it changed since viewing the lecture? Why is character so important to leadership?