The thought behind the book

The author hopes to inspire a movement where people demand character-driven leadership because it delivers higher value to all stakeholders.

The traits that deliver value

A leader should stay legal, but beyond that, it's the person who is hard-nosed, doesn't succumb to soft HR practices and ruthlessly controls costs who creates the most value.

The habits of strong character

People demonstrate character through habitual behaviours; they can develop the habits of strong character and 'unlearn' the habits of poor character.

Humility + will

Good leaders build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.

Integrity and fairness

Human character encompasses much more than honesty and truthfulness. It is also about loyalty or integrity, of fairness etc.

What character is about

Character is about distinguishing right from wrong, it is about not misleading others, it is about self control, it is about co-operation and forgiveness, it is about compassion.

Promoting maximum good

Finding a balance wherein our behaviours promote the most good for the most people is the ongoing task of all principled people of strong character.

The ROC matrix

Virtuous vs. self-focused CEOs

There are virtuoso CEOs and self-focused CEOs. Self-focused CEOs are weak characters who are out to help themselves, no matter what the cost to others.

How the world sees virtuous CEOs

Virtuoso CEOs are skilled business people, their employees see them as individuals of strong character and they select and build a team of strong character.

How the world sees self-focused CEOs

Self-focused CEOs can't be trusted to keep promises, often pass blame to others, frequently punish well-intentioned people for making mistakes, and are poor at caring for people.

Vision and focus

The foundation of a leader's decision making rests on creating a vision for the future, maintaining a strategic focus, and creating a culture of accountability.

Return on character

Character (who the leader is) + Skills (what the leader does) = Results (Return on Character).

The 5 personality dimensions

Human beings are born with five personality dimensions: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and risk aversion or fear. Think of each of these traits as having a slider which goes from 0 to 100.

On life

John Lennon, the famous Beatle, once said: "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans."

Connect with mentors

Good CEOs always have a connection with influential mentors.

How denial affects you

All human beings have a well-honed skill of denial. The benefit of this is that individuals are optimistic; the downside is that they get blinded and believe their own lies.

Seek objective feedback

The virtuoso CEOs in our study had the ability and the discipline of seeking objective feedback all the time. Leaders who ask for the truth repeatedly are rarely in self denial.

Feedback leads to self awareness

No matter how much reflection we practise, we need to get feedback from other people in order to become truly self aware.

Fear creates rifts

The fear-based approach of self-focused CEOs actually creates a rift and drives us apart.

How to become self-transforming

When we can routinely learn to challenge our own ideas and beliefs, we achieve the highest levels of mental complexity. When we achieve that, we become a self-transforming mind.

Adopt positive beliefs

Virtuoso leaders developed strong character habits and adopted positive beliefs about human nature, organizational life and their own sense of purpose.

What good leaders do

1. They create a vision or a plan

2. Set the strategic focus and key initiatives to achieve them

3. Build a talented team

4. Enforce a culture of accountability.

What poor leaders do

1. They make a decision and seek confirming data

2. Allow short-termism to override long-term decisions

3. Make impulsive decisions

4. Place undue importance on decision and its impact on their career

5. Get unduly influenced by the last person they speak to

6. Rely on their gut rather than collect careful analysis

An ability to communicate

Virtuoso CEOs achieve high ratings in their ability to form and communicate vision and strategy or direction.

A leader's ability to consistently communicate has a bearing on how the organization sees his/her credibility and character.

A culture of accountability

Good CEOs create and maintain a culture of accountability and draw the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

A disciplined decision making

Leaders with strong character are more likely to be anchored in the kind of disciplined decision making processes that result in clearer organizational vision and a stronger culture of accountability.

Hallmarks of an effective team

The most effective teams share the following: goals, roles, processes, informal interactions.

An empowered team is an engaged team

The people led by a virtuoso CEO have more authority and empowerment to make a difference.

People are fully engaged when they believe that management respects them.

The engagement killers

Workforce engagement killers include unfair hiring, unfair promotion and compensation policies.

A workforce that believes that sycophancy is the best route will never be engaged with company purpose or goals.

A leader's behaviour traits

The keystone leadership behaviour traits include: keeping promises, following through on commitments, owning up to mistakes, forgiving people for mistakes, and treating people as people.

What makes for a productive team

A workforce that feels cared for is more productive than one that is neglected in terms of development, listening, etc.

Changing your character

Changing your character is hard work. It takes a lot of energy and personal resolve. Willpower alone cannot do it.

Why change is tough

Your brain views change as a threat, because your brain thrives on routine.

The change process needs leadership

Leading and guiding an organization through a change process when the future is uncertain needs virtuoso leadership from the leader and the executive team.

Why boards are important

Boards are key to keeping people focused on what matters: vision, strategy, financial performance and people matters.

It's a shared journey

Few leaders understand the shared nature of their voyage. They must realize that their safe passage depends on the safe passage of every member of their team.