Boardroom Character

Recently, our local newspaper ran a column about the importance of character in our political leaders. It got me thinking about how important it is for board directors to “be of good character.”

Character is a foundation for effective decision-making. That makes it vital for board directors. Sure, directors’ competencies determine what they can do, and their commitment affects how hard they work, but it’s their character that drives how they make important decisions, not just in the boardroom, but in their life.

The quality of board decisions has a key impact on organizational success. Since strong character and good decision-making are completely intertwined, the capacity to develop their own character and to spot it in others is key for board directors everywhere.

As a reader of this blog, I’m going to assume you want to be known as a director of good character. Let’s explore what that entails.

Personality, Temperament, and Character

Your personality is pretty much on display all the time. Personality is in the thoughts and behaviors that come through in myriad ways such as your choice of friends, how you behave in meetings, and whether you prefer lunch or dinner.

One aspect of your personality is your temperament — traits such as energy levels, inhibition, emotional responsiveness, demeanor, and mood.

Character is also an aspect of your overall personality. It represents your ethical, moral, and social attitudes and beliefs. Your character traits become evident in situations where you apply your beliefs to the circumstances at hand.

While temperament seems to be present from birth, character develops over time in response to environment and experiences. That means that the challenges you face early in life result in specific character traits in adulthood — traits such as integrity, courage, empathy, and drive.

How you demonstrate character depends on your temperament. For instance, if your core beliefs include social justice, you’ll want to act fairly — that’s part of your character. But an introvert might act on that belief by quietly donating to social campaigns whereas an extrovert might choose to step on stage and speak to the masses.

Leadership Character

It would be nice if there was a single definition of ‘character’ to fall back on, but of course that isn’t the case. Even so, what most definitions have in common is a reference to ethics, integrity, and morals. Certainly, these are important traits for all of us. But for savvy directors, there’s more to it.

The best way to think about character in a boardroom context is to recognize that directors are organizational leaders. Leadership, along with knowledge and influence, is The Value You Bring to your board.

To be effective, boards need open, robust, respectful discussions among directors with integrity. Directors need to be willing to collaborate, brave enough to dissent, and able to exercise good judgment. All of these behaviors hinge on leadership character.

Without leadership character, boards can experience overconfidence, lack of transparency, inattention to critical issues, weak decision-making. and poor team dynamics.

Fortunately for readers of The Savvy Director, much has been written about the nature of leadership character.

Leadership Character Traits

If you delve into the articles listed in the Resources section, you’ll find a great many character traits that define a good leader. While all these traits are valid and important, the six listed below seem to me to be particularly applicable to the boardroom.

Integrity. Directors with integrity consistently adhere to high moral standards and strong ethical principles. They display honesty, authenticity, and candor. They say what they think and do what they say. In the boardroom, they apply personal and organizational values to difficult decisions.

Empathy. Directors with empathy are kind, considerate, fair, and even-handed. They have the capacity to forgive others — and themselves — for past mistakes. In the boardroom, they build trust by treating management and fellow directors with respect and compassion.

Accountability. Accountable directors are responsible and conscientious about discharging their duties. They keep their commitments and accept the consequences of their actions. When it comes to board meetings, they have good attendance, show up on time, are well prepared, and participate actively.

Courage. Directors with courage speak out against wrongdoing and stand up for what’s right even in the face of opposition. They’re prepared to take considered risks, challenge the status quo, and test uncharted waters. In the boardroom, these directors are calm when others panic – a valuable trait at times of crisis.

Optimism. Directors with optimism display a positive attitude. They’re open-minded, curious, creative, and flexible — able to climb above petty rivalries and personal feelings to see the big picture. In the boardroom, they ask great questions. Their ability to focus on the future and take the long view helps them contribute to strategy formation.

Drive. Directors with drive possess determination, initiative, passion, and the desire to excel. They have intrinsic motivation and the energy to inspire others. Along their governance journey, these directors choose a growth mindset again and again — aiming to be the best directors they can be.

Developing Leadership Character

If character traits are formed in response to our environment and experiences — especially early in life — is there anything we can do now to develop the traits that define a leader?

Experts tell us that, even if character can’t be taught outright, it doesn’t have to be left to chance. We can cultivate and hone our leadership character traits through feedback, coaching, practice, and role modeling. We can enhance our authenticity, integrity, and courage as we lead, act, and make decisions.

It’s true that character traits are formed in childhood, but later life experiences can also mold character. Character comes to the fore in times of crisis. Sometimes we’ll rise to the occasion and other times we’ll disappoint ourselves. Either way, it’s a learning opportunity — as long as we’re open to it.

More mundane life experiences like being hired and fired, working with critics and mentors, marriage and divorce, success and failure, illness and recovery can contribute to honing our leadership character if we have the humility and self-awareness to allow it.

The bottom line is, every situation we face in life is an opportunity to develop character, as long as we are open to it. What it takes is self-awareness and being open to re-visiting our values and re-evaluating our beliefs.

Assessing for Character

Since leadership character is so important, it would be nice to be able to assess it when considering candidates for a board position. That’s easier said than done, because assessing traits like courage, integrity, and empathy means knowing how people respond under pressure.

Still, boards do use a number of methods, even though each method has its shortcomings.

Resumes. A candidate’s resume deserves thorough analysis and due diligence, especially about any previous board service. If there’s any hint of impropriety or unethical conduct, it could be a red flag. In your own board resume, consider whether there’s an opportunity to highlight your leadership character.

Interviews. The best interview approach is to ask probing questions about how a candidate behaved in specific situations in the past or how they believe they’d behave in the future. Although candidates can manipulate their responses to cast themselves in a positive light, you’ll still gain some insight into their character. If you’re the one preparing for a board interview, keep a couple of examples in your back pocket just in case.

References. Deep reference checks, which involve talking to many referees in depth, including those who were not provided by the candidate, can be an effective way of assessing character. You can ask referees for a referral to others who know the candidate, or you can use your own networks to reach out to people who know the candidate. Use this kind of ‘backdoor’ reference check with discretion to avoid privacy issues. If you’re being considered for a board position, give potential referees a heads-up so they are ready for questions like the following:

• Tell us about a time the candidate delivered on their promises when it was difficult to do so.
• Tell us about a time the candidate put the organization’s interests first in the face of opposition.
• Tell us about a time the candidate showed someone an act of kindness, particularly to people who couldn’t do anything for them.
• How is the candidate viewed by different people they work with?
• What is the candidate’s greatest weakness?

Assessment tools. Some personality tests that assess temperament also claim to measure character traits. Of course, there are costs associated with this method and they are not widely used in board recruitment.

Social Interaction. Some boards arrange a social occasion to assess candidates. On the surface, this seems like a good idea, but since character traits are typically only revealed in challenging situations, they can’t be reliably assessed in social situations where candidates are on their best behaviour. Still, if you’re a candidate at such an occasion, be open to opportunities to highlight your leadership character.

In summary, even though assessing a candidate’s character is a challenge, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Practices like probing interview questions and deep reference checks should, at the very least, give you a sense of their leadership character.

And if you’re the one being considered for a board position, find ways of demonstrating that you’re a person of good character, even if you aren’t asked about it directly.

Your takeaways:

• Savvy directors want to be known for their leadership character — it’s a vital part of the value they bring to their boards.
• Key boardroom character traits include integrity, empathy, accountability, courage, optimism, and drive.
• Even though character is formed early in life, we have opportunities to strengthen our character as long as we’re self-aware, willing to re-evaluate our beliefs, and open to learning from the life situations we face.
• Assessing a director candidate’s character isn’t easy, but resumes, interviews, and references can give you a sense.
• If you’re being considered for a board position, look for ways of highlighting your leadership character in your resume, interview, and social interactions.

Resources:

• The Ethical Boardroom: A Guide to Establishing Ethical Leadership on Boards. Eleri Dodsworth. Stanton Chase. May 2024.
• The Case for Leadership Character. Diane Belcher. Harvard Business Review. February 2024.
• What Is the Main Difference Between Character and Personality? Hope Gillette. PsychCentral. January 2022.
• Measuring the Return on Character. Fred Kiel. Harvard Business Review. April 2015.
• Assessing a Director’s “Character”. Guerdon Associates. May 2014.
• Leadership Character and Corporate Governance. Mary Crossan, Jeffrey Gandz, Gerard Seijts, and John Reno. Ivey Business Journal. May/June 2013.

Thank you.

Scott

Scott Baldwin is a certified corporate director (ICD.D) and co-founder of DirectorPrep.com – an online membership with practical tools for board directors who choose a growth mindset.

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