This article is the fourth of a series on what true leadership is at the core, and will focus on effective leadership in the workplace.

Someone said, "Talent is a gift, but character is a choice".

If there is one thing that we can choose in life, it is our character. As a leader or would-be leader, you can say you have integrity but your action really speaks louder than your words. When you are at the top, you need to make a lot choices. Each time a decision is made, your character is shaped. You are challenged with a situation - do you bend the truth or do you stand up to it? Do you take the easy way out or do you pay the price? The decisions that you make create who you are and what you stand for. This is critical if you want to become a leader worth your salt.

Who do you want to be? In a corporate world, there are constant challenges that will demand that you make the right choice. What is the right choice to you will depend on your level of integrity.

I have encountered in real-life, a man in a very high position who sneakily tapped into the email system and read employees' emails to discover what people are saying about him. He lacked the character to know right from wrong. His insecurities choked him. To me all my respect for his brilliant mind came to nothing after this incidence. And that goes for the IT Manager who discovered it.

According to the author of "The Success Syndrome", Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, highly talented people at the top who lack the solid character to sustain them through the stress are heading for disaster. He believes that they are destined for one or more of : aloneness, arrogance, destructive adventure-seeking or adultery.

This description is totally fitting for the leader as mentioned above. He was a middle-aged single man, extremely arrogant and lonely. Do not fall into similar trap. Be mindful if you get to a point when you think it is enough to dynamic and profitable, exercise some soul-searching.

"Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character" says author John C.Maxwell who wrote "The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader". What this means to me is that, in the above circumstance, the leader did not have the fundamentals to begin with. He was not equipped to deal with the stress and therefore succumbed to temptations. And it was not the only time and only situation.

To improve your character, search for the cracks where you might have let people down or compromised. Begin to look for patterns and identify areas of weakness. Start rebuilding your character by facing the music, by admitting your flaws,only then you can move forward. Apologizing is not beneath any leaders of high calibre.

The choice is yours really. Fundamentally it is unimportant that you have dynamism and drive, if you do not stand on solid character foundation. Integrity and character is what will save you in challenging situations.

How To Be An Effective Leader In The Workplace - Part 4


This article is the fourth of a series on what true leadership is at the core, and will focus on effective leadership in the workplace.

Someone said, "Talent is a gift, but character is a choice".

If there is one thing that we can choose in life, it is our character. As a leader or would-be leader, you can say you have integrity but your action really speaks louder than your words. When you are at the top, you need to make a lot choices. Each time a decision is made, your character is shaped. You are challenged with a situation - do you bend the truth or do you stand up to it? Do you take the easy way out or do you pay the price? The decisions that you make create who you are and what you stand for. This is critical if you want to become a leader worth your salt.

Who do you want to be? In a corporate world, there are constant challenges that will demand that you make the right choice. What is the right choice to you will depend on your level of integrity.

I have encountered in real-life, a man in a very high position who sneakily tapped into the email system and read employees' emails to discover what people are saying about him. He lacked the character to know right from wrong. His insecurities choked him. To me all my respect for his brilliant mind came to nothing after this incidence. And that goes for the IT Manager who discovered it.

According to the author of "The Success Syndrome", Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, highly talented people at the top who lack the solid character to sustain them through the stress are heading for disaster. He believes that they are destined for one or more of : aloneness, arrogance, destructive adventure-seeking or adultery.

This description is totally fitting for the leader as mentioned above. He was a middle-aged single man, extremely arrogant and lonely. Do not fall into similar trap. Be mindful if you get to a point when you think it is enough to dynamic and profitable, exercise some soul-searching.

"Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character" says author John C.Maxwell who wrote "The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader". What this means to me is that, in the above circumstance, the leader did not have the fundamentals to begin with. He was not equipped to deal with the stress and therefore succumbed to temptations. And it was not the only time and only situation.

To improve your character, search for the cracks where you might have let people down or compromised. Begin to look for patterns and identify areas of weakness. Start rebuilding your character by facing the music, by admitting your flaws,only then you can move forward. Apologizing is not beneath any leaders of high calibre.

The choice is yours really. Fundamentally it is unimportant that you have dynamism and drive, if you do not stand on solid character foundation. Integrity and character is what will save you in challenging situations.

effective leadership

About the author:
Noraini Maskuri was an advertising media specialist with 20 years of experience, 12 years of which was in senior position in MNCs. She is currently running her own internet business. Her experience as leader of her group made her a passionate student of leadership. For more tips on how to be an effective leader, please drop by at: http://effectiveleadership.nmaskuri.com