We continue our Positive Vibes discussion with John Nocero from Duke University.
John: I read on the HCCA blog about Kasey Ingram, the
General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of ISK Americas, who learned
compliance at the bottom of the ocean as an officer aboard a nuclear ballistic
submarine. During his orientation at the Naval Academy, a commander told him
and the other new Midshipmen “Just because you’re a high performer doesn’t mean
you have high character.” It was an admonition he never forgot and it has
shaped his career since.
To me, it is about living
with your core principles first – what is my purpose? What vision do I want to
project and am I doing that every day? That’s important to me. I have worked
with people on both ends of the spectrum – high performers with high and low
character and I will take high character every day. I call low character
someone who berates others or is verbally abusive. Drunk with power. You may
see people who are shady. Neither are components of high character. So strive
for both. When I focus on improving myself, everything in my world gets better.
But if I focus on improving professionally, it does not make me a better person.
Being a better professional? Sure. That’s nice. Being a better person? That
takes minerals.
What do you think Sandy? Do
you want high performance, high character or both? And why?
I agree that high character is by far the most important
thing. Most people in our culture agree that being honest, trustworthy, loyal,
reliable, responsible, thoughtful, and a person of integrity are what it’s
about.
However, there are as many definitions of “high character”
as there are people. We’re talking about your personal value system, which we
each were taught by the people who raised us when we were young. If you come from a family that taught you
it’s OK to lie, cheat or steal to get what you want, your values are different
than those who came from a place of honesty and integrity.
In some cultures it’s acceptable to lie or use bribery to
get what you want in business, or to manipulate circumstances in your
favor. In those situations the focus is
on high performance above all, so high character suffers.
I like to think that high character will result in high
performance, but unfortunately it’s not always the case. Sometimes the shady character wins, at least
in the short term.
However, if at all possible I choose to avoid those folks
and surround myself with people who have the same values I do. In my world my values are most
important. I have to be able to live a
life of integrity, treat others as I want to be treated, and be able to sleep
well at night.
Please comment so others can benefit from your wisdom and
experience
Sandy is now offering a FREE Coaching Call, so you can see
what Coaching is all about. Please
email her at Sandy@insidejobscoach.com
and put FREE Call in the Subject Line.
She will get right back to you to schedule your call.
For FREE worksheets on ways to empower yourself, see the
Resources Page on our Inside Jobs Coach
website. Also be sure to check out our
Books and Programs page.
If you'd like to bring positive changes into your life, we
have the perfect thing for you. Check out The Rapid Power Pack,
and begin to create the life of your dreams.
If you would like to feel more confident and believe in yourself, check
out The
Confidence Pack, which contains several powerful worksheets to guide you
and an amazing hypnotherapy session to strengthen your belief in yourself
No comments:
Post a Comment