What is Leader Character and 

How Does It Influence How We Lead?

CHARACTER 

MATTERS:

Executive Fire Officer and Leadership Symposium

National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland
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Kimberley Milani

Director

Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership

Ivey Business School, Western University

London Canada

kymilani@ivey.ca

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kymilani/

James R. Rychard

Firefighter

Burlington, Canada

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-r-rychard-fsemc-a310a684/

About Us
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Today’s agenda - three core messages

Character is critical for 

good and effective 

judgment, for 

sustained excellence 

and wellbeing, and it 

creates competitive 

advantage.

There is an objective 

language with which to 

address character in 

people and 

organizations. 

Character is 

observable and 

measurable

How can we develop 

and apply leader 

character in both our 

personal and 

professional lives? 

How do we become a 

character-infused 

leader?
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Who we are
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Vision

We aspire to have a deep impact on individuals, organizations and societies 

through the creation and application of new knowledge on leader character.

We aim to:

• Be recognized by researchers and practitioners as a globally leading 

Institute for research, teaching and outreach regarding the awareness, 

assessment and development of leader character.

• Elevate the importance of character alongside competence in the practice of 

leadership.

• Develop global citizens who have strength of character, strive to make 

a difference, and contribute to the flourishing of teams, organizations, 

communities, and societies.
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2008-2009 Financial Crisis

• What went wrong with leadership that 

contributed to the 2008 – 2009 financial 

crisis? 

• Could good leadership have made a 

difference?

• What do we know about good leadership? 

What did we – scholars, educators, 

leaders – miss about the formulation of 

good leadership?

• What do organizations need to do 

differently to reduce the likelihood of 

these kinds of events from happening 

again?
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Lessons we learned

1.Character heavily implicated

2.Need to objectively define, 

assess and develop character in 

leaders and organizations.

3.Elevate character alongside 

competence 

Leadership on Trial is an open access 

resource. Read or download a free copy 

HERE.
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The Effective Leader (the 3 Cs)

If any of these three pillars are deficient, the shortfall will undermine the other pillars and, ultimately, lead to 

performance problems for leaders, organizations and related stakeholders.

Gandz, J., Crossan, M. M., Seijts, G. H. & Stephenson, C.(2010). Leadership 

on trial : a manifesto for leadership development. Ivey Business School.
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Another way to

look at it....
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WHEN IT COMES TO LEADERSHIP

WHO YOU ARE MATTERS
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The Dark Triad –

Social Intelligence

1. Narcissism

2. Machiavellianism

3. Psychopathy

Article: Fixing a toxic work culture: Guarding against the ‘dark triad’ 

byTom Relihan, MIT Sloan Management Review
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Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Used with permission. Artist: Paul Combs.

Drawn by Fire Blog, Paul Combs Illustration and Cartoons
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If it matters so much...

the challenge with leader character

Why haven’t we emphasized leader character in organizations to the same extent 

as competencies?

1. There is a great deal of ambiguity about what is meant by the word character

2. Leaders need a contemporary, practice-focused vocabulary with which to 

address character in the workplace

3. Few reliable and valid instruments are available for the systematic 

assessment of character
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The leader’s role in character 

development

• Competencies alone are 

insufficient

• Character-based leadership 

development is relevant at all 

levels and ranks

• Culture is set from the top

• Hire and promote for character
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Research to practice

Article: Make Leader Character Your 

Competitive Edge by Mary Crossan, Bill 

Furlong and Rob Austin. MIT Sloan 

Management Review
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BUT WHAT IS CHARACTER?
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CHARACTER
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How do you define character?
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Defining leader character

• Being a leader is less about the position and more about the disposition 

to lead. 

• Having the disposition to lead is what allows professionals to rise above the fray and 

bring the best of themselves to their daily activities.

• Character is a “habit of being”. Excellence of character is captured by a 

set of behaviors all of which are virtuous and some of which are traits or 

values.
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Crossan, M., Seijts, G., Gandz, J. (2016). Developing leadership character.

New York, NY: Routledge Publishing.

Leader Character 

Framework
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Keep in mind...

• Character is a habit of being – the behaviours that 

reveal who you are day in and day out.

• Each character dimension is composed of several 

elements or observable behaviours that affect the 

strength of the particular dimension.

• The character dimensions are networked or 

interconnected – they work together ... otherwise 

virtues may become vices.

• Character is exercised through judgment - the 

quality of judgment impacts individual and 

organizational performance.

• Our challenge is to master the elements, dimensions 

to achieve personal effectiveness.
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CHARACTER IN ACTION
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Seinfeld – Kramer’s incident with Barry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A9U_Y3L7XU

From the NBC sitcom Seinfeld’s “The Face Painter,” S6. E22.; aired 11 May 1995
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Can character be developed?
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• Character can change for the better or worse

• Character is developed incrementally

• Range of different approaches - e.g., education; reading; workshops; simulations including 

role plays; experiences; music

Can character be developed?
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The Individual’s role in character 

development

• People have the potential to constantly learn, modify, adapt and 

experiment as they make their way in life

• Reflect

• Who am I?

• What do I want to be?

• What am I going to do to become what I want to be?

• Stretch, goal-setting

• Get data to course-correct, feedback especially on those experiences that 

really test character
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"The root of leadership development 

is self-awareness."

Michael McCain
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Developing Character

Discovering 

latent 

character 

strengths

Activating Character

Activating 

character 

through 

reminding, 

priming, 

reinforcement

Strengthening Character

Actively 

working to 

develop 

character

Connecting Character

Connecting 

character 

dimensions

Sustaining

Character 

dimensions 

hold across 

contexts and 

under stress

Think about developing character along a continuum
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Character is foundational

• Character of an institution or department’s leadership is critical....

• Drives behaviour and conduct

• Collective character defines the culture

• Embedded Leader Character transforms an organization

• Character infuses thoughts, conversations and culture

• Changes dynamics of every interaction, decision and judgment

• Creates conditions for sustained excellence
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Why does this matter to the Fire Service?
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Herb Brooks - Miracle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YCVtPVP5wI

From the Walt Disney Pictures film Miracle directed by Gavin O’Connor, 2004
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Character Matters
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Anatomy  Development  Application
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Leader Character strategic roadmap

INFUSING CHARACTER THROUGHOUT ORGANIZATIONS

© Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School
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Character Infused Culture

© Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, Ivey Business School
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IN SUMMARY 
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Anatomy
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Anatomy Development, Exercise
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Anatomy Development, Exercise Application
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Questions to Consider

Does your department attach 

importance to the character of 

its employees and leadership 

teams? 

• If not, why not? What gets in the way 

of enacting character in your 

department? What can you do – or do 

better – to make sure that character 

gains traction in discussions? 

• If yes, how does your organization 

define, assess, and develop character? 

Have specific initiatives been 

implemented? 

Does your department’s 

culture, code of conduct, 

mission, vision, values, etc. 

emphasize the importance of 

character?

• Is there explicit or implicit 

overweighting of some dimensions and 

underweighting of others?

Does your department 

incorporate character into its 

decisions related to 

recruitment, development, 

compensation, promotion, and 

termination?
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