E X E C U T I V E
F O R U M
LEADERS
OF CHARACTER:
THEIR BEHAVIORS
AND SKILLS
Kevin Kearns
D
o leaders of character display certain behaviors
and skills that set them apart?
For 25 years, the Johnson Institute for
Responsible Leadership at the University of Pittsburgh,
home to the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum,
has employed several research strategies to answer
this question. First, we have produced in-depth case
studies of leaders from all sectors who have received
our annual Exemplary Leadership Award. These are
leaders of character who have made highly acclaimed
contributions in public service. Second, we have
conducted extensive field interviews with executive
leaders to look for shared characteristics and skills.
Lastly, we have delivered over 100 executive seminars
to organizations in the United States and abroad,
observing how their leaders frame and solve problems.
The leaders we have encountered display some or all
of the characteristics and behaviors described below.
We do not suggest that this is an exhaustive list, nor do
we claim exclusivity in these findings. Some of these
behaviors have been discovered by other researchers,
thus validating their findings as well as our own.
This article proposes five characteristics and associated
skills that typify exemplary leaders.
Self-Understanding
and Acceptance
Leaders generally have unique abilities, but they are
not superhuman. In our research, we have found that
leaders of character are aware of, and even embrace,
their shortcomings as well as their strengths. In various
models of emotional intelligence, this is called selfawareness. Jim Collins, in his best-seller Good to Great,
called it the “paradoxical blend” of humility and
self-confidence.
WINTER 2020
49
Leaders generally have
Leaders who are
unique abilities, but they
self-aware often keep
are not superhuman.
a private journal.
Simply stated, the leaders we have studied are
emotionally healthy people who are comfortable in
their own skin. They are not braggarts or narcissists.
They use “we” far more often than “I.” They may be
immensely talented, but they are first and foremost
human beings and they embrace their own and
others’ humanity.
Leaders who are self-aware often keep a private journal
to help them track the ups and downs of their personal
and professional development. Some of them seek out
a mentor, a peer, a trusted colleague, or a professional
coach who will provide an unbiased assessment of
their performance.
While these leaders are passionate about their work,
they maintain a healthy balance of other interests
and activities as well. They read widely looking for
embedded wisdom in the arts, sciences, and other
disciplines. Many are well-traveled and take lessons
from other cultures and traditions.
•• Finding self-motivation and passion for the work
Leaders who show self-understanding surround
themselves with people from whom they can continue
to learn and grow. They look for people who bring
knowledge and skills that will advance the mission,
not people who are mirror images of themselves. These
leaders are quite comfortable not being the smartest
person in the room on every topic. They embrace
the responsibility of leadership and decision-making,
but they seek information to make the best possible
decision. They are not enamored with sycophants who
dutifully agree with everything they say.
These leaders are genuinely committed to diversity
in all of its forms, not merely paying lip service to
the idea. They understand that promoting diversity
can open the eyes of everyone in the organization to
challenges and opportunities that might be hidden or
distorted when looked at through only one cultural or
experiential lens.
50
LEADER TO LEADER
The character trait of self-understanding and acceptance
can help accomplished and aspiring leaders to learn and
refine several leadership skills:
•• Self-management of time and energy
•• Delegating
•• Motivating others
•• Learning from experience
•• Decisiveness
•• Acquiring new skills
Example: Admiral Thad Allen, former commandant of
the U.S. Coast Guard was charged by two presidents
to orchestrate the federal responses to Hurricane
Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He won
the Johnson Institute Exemplary Leadership Award
in 2011.
Allen, by his own admission, was a “recalcitrant” junior
officer but a near-death experience prompted him to
do some careful self-analysis and reflection. He came
to understand that he lacked important skills that he
would need if he hoped to ascend through the ranks
into a leadership role—skills in strategy development,
intergovernmental relations, negotiation, and working
with elected officials. He then developed a plan to
hone these skills. He acquired graduate degrees in
management and participated in executive seminars
with other leaders. He reads widely and regularly
teaches a graduate seminar in public administration at
a leading university. Officers who reported to him note
that he is a highly effective delegator and developer
of talent.
Systemic and External
Perspective
Systems thinkers have a holistic view of the organizations
in which they work. Even before they ascend to
a leadership post, they are curious about how
performance in one part of the organization impacts
other parts. Systemic thinkers are boundary spanners
who monitor external trends and events and “connect
the dots” when they see patterns that impact
the organization.
These leaders also try to cultivate a holistic perspective
in their staff. They convene staff members from
different parts of the organization to share information
and teach each other about changes in their respective
domains that may ripple through other parts of
the organization.
These leaders ask deceptively simple questions about
how the organization does its work. They walk around,
with genuine interest in the work being done by others.
Systems thinkers are mindful that bureaucracies are
a type of system that can stifle creativity, snuff out
leadership in lower ranks, and prevent information
or constructive dissent from flowing upward. These
leaders also are aware of how their own actions and
words can have ripple effects.
A systems perspective can be the foundation for
developing many leadership skills including:
•• Strategy development
•• Managing change by finding leverage points
•• Critical thinking
•• Problem solving
•• Trouble shooting
•• Synthesizing
•• Environmental scanning and forecasting
•• Crafting a vision for the organization
•• Project planning and implementation
•• Collaborative team building
•• Achieving workable unity
•• Calculated risk-taking
Examples: Paul O’Neill was chief executive officer of
the aluminum giant Alcoa and also the 72nd Secretary
of the US Treasury. He was the Johnson Institute
Exemplary Leader in 2018.
Shortly after he assumed the top post at Alcoa, O’Neill
alarmed the board of directors and shareholders when
he announced that worker safety, not profits or market
share, would be the driving goal of the company.
Analysts and pundits predicted that O’Neill would
drive the company into the ground. Some openly
ridiculed him. However, O’Neill’s systems perspective
helped him see something that others could not—
that improving worker safety would have beneficial
ripple effects throughout the organization including
productivity, efficiency, innovation, worker morale,
product quality, attrition, lower insurance costs, and
many other metrics of success.
O’Neill also recognized that his own actions and
behavior would have ripple effects throughout the
organization and even externally. For example, after
taking a midnight call at home from a concerned
employee he traveled to South America to personally
inspect a plant where a number of workers had been
injured. He personally dismissed the plant manager
for his reckless disregard for his workers. News of
that action quickly spread to Alcoa plants around
the world. Also, he refused to join social clubs that
his predecessors patronized until they modified their
membership policies regarding minorities and women.
This action persuaded other corporate leaders to
join him.
WINTER 2020
51
O’Neill says his curiosity
about systems prepared
him for leadership.
During Paul O’Neill’s tenure Alcoa became one of
the safest places in the world to work and, proving his
critics wrong, the company increased its market value
by 800 percent. He says his curiosity about systems
prepared him for leadership.
Another example of systems thinking is demonstrated
by Sandra Taylor, who won the 2015 Exemplary
Leader Award. After beginning her career as a foreign
service officer in the U.S. Department of State,
Taylor entered the private sector directing public
and governmental affairs for several international
companies then becoming Vice President for
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Starbucks.
A pioneer in CSR, she helped educate business leaders
that CSR is much more than mere legal compliance
and it is also more than just corporate philanthropy
or occasional good deeds. Rather, CSR must be
Taylor helped educate
business leaders that CSR
is much more than mere
legal compliance.
52
LEADER TO LEADER
an integral part of a corporation’s overall strategy,
support systems, supply chain management, and
business model.
As a member of the leadership team at Starbucks, Taylor
reengineered the company’s relationship with coffee
growers to stress sustainability and fair market pricing
and she led other efforts to improve the company’s
performance as a corporate citizen. Doing all of this as
a minority woman in a male-dominated, profit-focused
corporate culture is testimony to Taylor’s remarkable
ability to build commitment to a CSR strategy that is
embedded within, not attached to, the core systems
and goals of the organization.
Stewardship
Leaders of character understand that the resources
of the organization, including its people, have been
entrusted to their care for a finite period of time. Their
overarching objective is to ensure that the enterprise
is better and stronger when they end their tenure as
the leader than when they began. Stewards accept that
they are, in effect, temporary custodians of a precious
resource. Even owners of firms, if they embrace
stewardship, will understand the custodial nature of
their leadership.
Leaders who practice stewardship invest resources to
build the capacity of the organization to thrive now and
in the future. Stewards know that these investments
may not bear fruit until after they have left their
leadership post. They accept that they may not receive
credit for these gains, setting ego aside for the good of
the organization.
Leaders who embrace stewardship are similar to the
Servant Leader described by Robert Greenleaf. They
see themselves as serving the organization rather than
being served by it. They often work behind the scenes,
in relative anonymity, to achieve their long-term goal.
Anyone who embraces the notion of stewardship
will have an easier time mastering these and other
leadership skills:
•• Cultivating positivity, optimism, and a sense
of purpose
•• Establishing goals that are inspirational and
worthy of sustained investment of time, talent,
and resources
•• Combating complacency and cynicism
•• Building commitment to the future
•• Leadership development
•• Recruiting and retaining top talent
•• Capacity building.
Example: Mark Nordenberg served as Chancellor of the
University of Pittsburgh from 1996 to 2014. He won
the Johnson Exemplary Leadership Award in 2013.
At the time of Nordenberg’s appointment as Acting
Chancellor, the University was troubled. Two
predecessors had made decisions that eroded public
confidence in the institution. The media leapt on every
miscue and rumor. A consultant had been hired to
conduct an institution-wide assessment.
As Acting Chancellor, hopeful of a permanent
appointment, it would be easy for Nordenberg
to simply wait for the consultant’s report and then
dutifully implement the recommendations. Instead, he
convened key stakeholders to develop a five-part plan
to build the capacity of the University for long-term
success. Thus, by the time the consultants finished
their work, the University was already well along
the way toward addressing its problems. As a result
the consultants’ report generated only passing media
attention for a few days, not weeks or months.
Nordenberg’s 18-year tenure can be divided into three
distinct phases—assess and repair, build capacity for
the future, and prepare for transition. By the time he
handed the reins over to his successor the University
of Pittsburgh had risen to new heights in research
funding, student quality, and financial stability.
Integrity and Accountability
Leaders of character show integrity in all that they do.
They embrace ethical and professional standards of
behavior, and they put those standards into practice
every day. They respect the dignity of people. They
don’t make promises they can’t keep. They establish
and enforce a set of values and operating principles
that guide the way the organization does business.
They treat people with dignity and respect, even those
with whom they disagree. They promote a culture of
integrity through actions not just words.
These leaders embrace the fact that they are accountable
to others—they must answer to shareholders,
regulators, consumers, society as a whole, and even
future generations. They design systems and metrics
of accountability within the organization, holding
themselves as well as others to standards of performance
that are transparent. They readily acknowledge failures
as well as successes. While they encourage employees
to learn from mistakes, they will not tolerate the same
mistakes over and over.
Embracing the values of integrity and accountability
lays the foundation for mastering these and other
leadership skills:
•• Establishing and maintaining trust and credibility
•• Being consistent, fair, and reliable
•• Establishing a core identity or brand for
the organization
•• Serving as a symbol, representing the group
•• Setting clear expectations
•• Relationship building
•• Resource acquisition
Examples: Coleen Rowley was an agent in the FBI’s
Minneapolis field office. She was one of three women
who were named 2002 Persons of the Year by Time
magazine. Each of the women had put their careers
and their lives on the line by exposing unethical and
unaccountable behavior in large institutions. She won
the Exemplary Leadership Award in 2009.
In August of 2001, a month before the 9/11 attacks,
the Minneapolis field office took into custody a
person who was displaying suspicious behavior while
taking flight lessons at a local airport. Rowley and
her colleagues suspected him of preparing to use
commercial airliners in a terrorist attack. However, the
WINTER 2020
53
FBI headquarters in Washington was not convinced,
and refused to grant the Minneapolis office permission
to seize the suspect’s computer and other materials that
might reveal a larger plot.
Following the attacks of 9/11, Rowley was dismayed
when top leaders in the FBI repeatedly claimed
that they had no advance warning. She wrote a
detailed memo to the Director of the FBI, not as a
“whistleblower” but to give him the information he
would need to respond truthfully to inquiries. When
the memo was leaked to the press, Rowley was pressed
to give congressional testimony regarding the FBI’s
pre-9/11 security lapses.
Coleen Rowley became a pariah within the FBI for
violating its unwritten code of loyalty and silence.
Her career in tatters, she resigned and began speaking
publicly on the need for integrity in government.
Significantly, she takes no honorarium for her talks,
living only on her modest pension from the FBI.
Another example of integrity and accountability is
provided by Kathleen Hower, who is the founder
of Global Links, a nonprofit organization that ships
medical equipment and supplies to countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean. She won the Exemplary
Leadership Award in 2010.
Some medical relief organizations accept donations of
medicine from pharmaceutical corporations that are
near their expiration date. They defend the practice
by noting, correctly perhaps, that these medicines are
actually still effective well after their official expiration
dates but that US law will not allow their distribution
domestically. Hower says, “If they aren’t good enough
for our citizens, why should we dump them on poor
countries?” Global Links had a policy of declining
these donations even though they would have boosted
the value of goods donated, an important metric of
performance for her organization.
Empathy
Empathic leaders look for insights and perspectives
through the eyes and experiences of employees,
consumers, suppliers, regulators, and other stakeholders.
54
LEADER TO LEADER
These insights can lead to the introduction of new
services or profoundly improved products that will set
the organization apart from others.
People who cultivate empathy typically excel at the
following leadership skills:
•• Communication
•• Mentoring
•• Giving and receiving constructive feedback
•• Cognitive flexibility
•• Social and situational awareness
•• Nonverbal communication
•• Active listening
•• Creativity
•• Respect for employees
•• Cultural awareness
•• Conflict resolution
•• Patience and self-control
Example: Jim Withers is a physician who founded
Operation Safety Net, an organization that provides
essential medical care to people who live on the streets,
arguably the most marginalized of our fellow citizens.
Withers was the recipient of the 2017 Exemplary
Leadership Award.
With a small core of paid healthcare professionals and
many more volunteers, Dr. Withers literally makes
house calls under bridges, in public parks, in abandoned
buildings, and other places where his patients live.
Gaining the trust of these people was not easy. Many
of them have experienced severe trauma and have been
ignored or even mistreated by traditional healthcare
systems.
To gain access to this population, Withers sought
advice and assistance from social service professionals,
police, and others who worked with and among people
on the street. He even employed several people who
formerly lived on the streets, learning valuable lessons
from them. He spent many nights on the street trying
to see the world through the eyes of someone who lives
there, often placing himself in grave peril. He often
told his staff that while their primary medical service
was to treat foot wounds, frostbite, and other maladies,
their guiding principle was to “respect and validate
the existence” of people who had been abandoned
by society. Dr. Withers has received international
recognition for his work, and Operation Safety Net
spawned a global network of healthcare workers who
meet regularly to discuss the practice of street medicine.
Conclusion
Can the characteristics and skills described in this article
be practiced and refined by people who are not born
leaders? The answer is a qualified “yes.” For example,
considering the characteristic of self-understanding and
acceptance, a person cannot be “taught” how to become
an emotionally healthy and grounded person. Some of
us have deeply rooted insecurities and doubts that may
plague us for a lifetime. However, self-understanding
and acceptance can be practiced through disciplined
reflection and perhaps with the use of various formal
tools of self-discovery. But willingness to grow as a
leader is the first requirement, without which nothing
will be accomplished.
The skills described above may come easier to some
people than others. But with an open mind, nearly
everyone can practice and improve all of the leadership
skills described here. Embracing the idea of progress,
not perfection is a helpful place to start.
Kevin Kearns, Ph.D., is a professor of public and
nonprofit management in the Graduate School of
Public and International Affairs at the University
of Pittsburgh. He is also the founding director of
Pitt’s Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership
and the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum. He
has published three books and many articles on
executive leadership, strategy, and governance and
has given more than 130 seminars to executives
and leaders around the world. He has served in
positions of leadership in philanthropy and higher
education and has won many awards for his
leadership and his teaching.
WINTER 2020
55