Have you noticed anything lately about leaders in the news?

It’s probably nothing new, but in this age of instant access to information through social media we are being inundated with the unsavory details of leader’s private and public lives. I am noticing how often we hear about flaws, foibles and failings. Moral failings, financial mismanagement and a general lack of integrity seem to abound.

Senators who file for expenses that seem to comply with the rules of conduct befitting the office they carry, but upon closer scrutiny we discover what appears to be a greedy manipulation of privilege for personal gain. Mayors who continue to make the news for what appears to be moral failings covered up by the smoke and mirrors of slick public relations strategies. Law enforcement officers who are breaking the very laws they fight to uphold. And so on…

All appear to be lacking the most critical type of leadership – Personal Leadership. The most difficult person we will ever lead is our self.

Sadly the priorities upon which we evaluate leaders are upside down. We tend to evaluate leaders on the following criteria – what I call the 3 C’s of leadership:

1. Charisma
2. Content
3. Character

We are first drawn to a leader’s charisma. Are they engaging, personable, affable and winsome? Do we like them?

We then try to discover what their content is. What is their proficiency? What knowledge, understanding, expertise and philosophy do they carry?

Very rarely do we then get a glimpse into a leader’s character. We know them through the media, from afar. We do not have much if any unscripted interaction with them. A person’s character is the most difficult leadership criteria to evaluate until it is too late. It is often upon character issues that leaders default and fall from grace.

It is time to flip our leadership priorities upside down and to look first into a leader’s character, then their content, then their charisma. In fact, Jim Collins indicated in his book Good to Great that a charismatic leader should consider their charisma a liability, not an asset, because it can easily cause them to make their leadership selfish and self-centered.

We need to be more concerned about character than charisma and content.

Don’t we want leaders who demonstrate integrity? A leader with integrity doesn’t need significant external systems to keep him or her accountable. They hold themselves accountable. They lead themselves well. They have developed strong Personal Leadership. There is a deep seated code of ethics and values to which they hold themselves. They live the same way even when no one is watching them.

Too often leaders are one way in public and then another in private – that’s not integrity.

Who are you when no one is watching?

Character is forged in the fires of affliction. It has been said that difficulties build character, but they also reveal it – or the lack thereof. Our culture seems to be addicted to comfort and convenience, which tends to run in opposition to conviction, courage and character. It is time to re-emphasize character in the public eye and encourage the teaching of character in public and private forums.

Do we not want citizens and those who lead us to be honest, respectful, selfless, dependable, empathetic, compassionate, generous, just, patient, responsible, self-controlled, truthful, humble, courageous, and determined? As well as many other noble character traits…

Awareness is the beginning of change. Perhaps if we begin to reassess our leadership priorities to put character at the top of the list we can then begin discourse to determine how we can best assess the character of those who lead. And, we as leaders can ask ourselves some difficult questions about what we believe about character, who we are when no one is watching, what our personal code of ethics is, and how we can strive to lead ourselves well by holding ourselves to a higher standard of conduct.

Yes, I do believe it is time to flip our leadership priorities around: Character first, then content, then charisma. How we lead ourselves – our Personal Leadership – needs to become a greater area of focus in order for us to lead well in all the other areas of our lives.

Character, then Content, then Charisma – let the discourse begin.