Not Just Behavior

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published October 2, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

I’m sure you’ve heard lots of people talk about the importance of character. Unfortunately, much of it sounds something like, “We need to start a character emphasis because all these people are doing bad stuff, and we want them to start doing good stuff!”

Though understandable, this statement focuses completely on behavior and really isn’t very character-based at all. People can do lots of good things while still having bad character. Being concerned about someone’s character means being concerned about the real them–not about the image they project for all to see. We need to be careful that, in getting excited about “character,” we’re not merely getting excited about socially acceptable behavior.

Telling someone to “be patient” is different from saying, “wait for the train without complaining.” The person might very well wait without complaining while being inwardly impatient.

But many of us simply mean, “wait without complaining.” We’re thinking in terms of the behavior we want from that person. We’re not going to the trouble of worrying about their true inward state. Instead, we need to be concerned about what’s going on inside the person, and be talking about that when we say, “be patient.”

One strength of Character First! is that it tries to talk about these inner characteristics rather than outer behavior. This is very difficult since we only notice character by noticing someone’s behavior. But we always need to direct our thinking past the behavior to the character. When you praise someone for patience, you might wonder whether they were really patient on the inside. Only time will tell. But over time, the delicate distinction will become clear to those who listen to you.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

The One vs. The Many

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published September 16, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

Here at Character First! we’re gearing up for a conference to help individuals organize character initiatives in their communities. Attendees from eight foreign nations have already registered. Our goal is for them to return home with the vision and tools they need to be “character champions” in their area.

But I’m realizing more and more how an effort, such this one, is not the work of just one or even a handful of people. A character initiative is not an effort by leaders to improve the character of those they oversee. It’s not the few changing the many. It’s ordinary people taking proactive steps to make their communities into what they want.

Last week, I attended the annual awards banquet of the Character Council of Central Oklahoma. They honored eight recipients, each in a different area of the community—education, family, faith, law enforcement, business, etc. It wasn’t because they worked on the Council’s pet project. These people simply took initiative to live everyday lives with visible, contagious good character.

A character initiative requires some organization, accountability, and support, but mostly it requires lots of normal people willing to be honest and practical about how good character affects daily activities.

• The Members’ Library is divided into several areas of the community: Family, Leadership, Work, etc. Have you found an article that consistently applies to your life situation?
• Have you been discouraged by others using “Character” to tell you and others what to do? Focus on good character changing your life first. Worry about others later.

Don’t try to go it alone. Talk with others about challenges and decisions you’re facing and about how you want to do the right thing.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Good Character for Tough Times

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published July 27, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

John Burnett

Why is it when times get tough, the training budget is the first to get cut?

Tom Hill notes that our character, good or bad, is often revealed by our response to difficult situations. I would say the current economic crisis is a "difficult situation."

In his article, Are Ethics Too Expensive?, G. Jeffrey MacDonald states, “Hard-hit firms are cutting training. But hard times are when workers need it most.” MacDonald sites numerous ethics experts, statistical evidence, and even a government agency that supports his concerns.

Companies do not have to sacrifice their emphasis on ethics because of finances. Ethics training does not have to be expensive. Character training is an excellent, inexpensive way to support your ethics emphasis even during tough times.

Many Character First! organizations utilize the monthly bulletins as a spring board for discussing character and ethical decisions. MacDonald also discovered the value of integrating ethics discussions into routine staff meetings with an added benefit: making managers more active players in the formation of ethical cultures.

Economic downturns are tough on everyone but especially on relationships. Are you taking advantage of this opportunity to help your people be successful with character qualities such as diligence, thoroughness, truthfulness, responsibility, and self-control? As character is emphasized and modeled in the workplace, relationships are restored, customers are satisfied, and work is done with excellence. The result is better morale, greater productivity, and a high ethical standard.

Really emphasizing character is important at all times, but we don’t recommend deemphasizing during tough times.

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John Burnett is Business Director the Character Training Institute.

People: Good or Bad?

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published July 10, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

Do people, left to themselves, naturally make the right choices or the wrong choices? In his 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, Nobel prize-winning author William Golding tells a story of several young boys stranded on a tropical island. Gradually they forget the restraints of civilization and lose their morality, killing two of the boys. On the other hand, the reality television program Kid Nation showed children working together in an unsupervised environment to sustain and govern themselves rather successfully.

It seems undeniable: sometimes people do right, sometimes wrong. The real question isn’t why there are both good and bad people, but where does the bad come from? Do people corrupt their environment, or does the environment corrupt them?

Obviously both happen in the world. But if we see an environment that is corrupting people, how did it get that way? Answer: people made it that way. People are the creative source of corruption.

Character First! responds to this reality by holding that people don’t just need to learn–they need to change. We emphasize an active approach to character development rather than a purely educational one.

• Educational materials are just one of four elements in the Character First! model. Are you part of the other three?
  
• Some of the Members’ Library articles are geared toward education, some towards action. Look at the How To Praise section and use it today!
• Each Relationships section has “Practical Applications” at the end of the article, and many For Kids and For Teens sections include activities and projects.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

People vs. Projects

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published June 26, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

So there are “Project People,” and there are “People People.” Is that really a fair distinction?

Many of those I have heard called “Project People” would say they focus on a project in order to help people with it! And many “People People” would say relationships–or people–are their most important assets, so it makes sense to invest in them.

Maybe the difference is not so much motivation, but personality. Are you energized by being with lots of people all the time, or does that tire you? Do you get fulfillment from a task even if no one else is around, or would that bore you?

Depending on your predisposition, Character First! could seem overly project– or people– oriented, but really the goal of Character First! is to get people thinking and talking in terms of character. That will affect both people and projects.

• You may feel like you don’t have time to spend on the resources Character First! provides. But what is something you have learned from the material so far? How many times and places can you put it into practice?
• As an outworking of this emphasis, how have you tried to think or speak differently? Just at work, or in other social spheres as well?

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Inner Character or Outer Guidelines?

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published June 15, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

What is character, really? Is it everyone doing what they think is right? The powerful forcing their standards on the weak? A set of rules you must follow or be punished? Often people don’t realize how subtle beliefs like these can affect their everyday behavior. Outward rules can clarify what is expected, but there’s still something missing.

Character First! works to create an environment in which people talk clearly and easily in terms of right and wrong. As this culture develops, we will find ourselves conforming not so much to outward guidelines, but to the inner values we are coming to recognize in life. In a way, what Character First! seeks is well-informed consciences. Outward guidelines are important–but ultimately only as they educate our inner character.

We hope that, through the presentations in the monthly bulletin and here in the Members’ Library, you are becoming more and more comfortable talking in terms of character every day.

• Examine the Members’ Library definition of Character. Do you consider yourself to be a person of good character?
• As you look at each history article, note how the historical figure was governed internally. What would be different if they required external guidelines?

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Plausibility Structures

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published June 1, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

People who face an environment hostile to what they believe will “plausibility structures,” an organization, group of people, environment, information source, or something similar that tells him his belief is plausible¹. Certainly we all gravitate toward social groups, movies, news sources, and other “structures” that reinforce our thoughts about the world.

These tendencies often become both a cause and an effect of our values and beliefs. The question is how purposeful we will be in building our plausibility structures?

Character First! is rooted in the belief that there are right and wrong decisions. Your use of this website and related resources can be part of a plausibility structure of good character. You can use these resources purposefully in your organization or family to reinforce the belief that character is the way the world works.

• Do you try to apply character to your life because someone tells you to, or because you are personally motivated to?
• Have you found a historical character with whom you can identify in your ongoing effort to develop integrity?
• What is your purpose in accessing the Members’ Library? Do you have ideas for using these values to help those around you? The Key Concepts often involve our relationships with others.

Reference:

¹Nepstad, S. (2004). Persistent resistance: Commitment and community in the ploughshares movement. Social Problems, 51(1), p.43-60.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Deliverables

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published May 18, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

We often demand deliverables from others. We get specific promises, and then we hold others to “deliver” on those commitments. If they don’t, we will probably go to someone else next time.

What do you expect your character emphasis to deliver? No program will succeed if it’s not an expression of what you already want for yourself and those around you. Take a moment to examine your heart and make sure you have the right goals.

Is Character First! one part of your larger desire to benefit your people, or are you hoping the program will inspire good behavior without too much effort? Are you the driving force, or are you hoping that Character First! will be the driving force? Character First!’s goal is for you to pursue character development, not simply to implement a program.

• Look at a quality’s Key Concepts. Don’t think first about whether you and those around you are doing them. Think about the reasons for practicing them, and other motivations. How weighty are these things in your mind and the minds of those around you?

• Consider the “How to Praise” section. The essence of praising for character rather than achievement is to recognize the good motivations behind good behavior, and genuinely appreciate them. Are you developing this appreciation?

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

What People Want

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published May 4, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

When I was studying for a business degree, I took a course titled “Organizational Behavior,” in which the class learned that there are major differences between the ways cultures approach problems. People from some cultures tend to look for the solution by changing or improving something in themselves, while others tend to look for the solution by changing or improving something around them. The American culture falls into the latter group. Our mindset tends more toward conforming the outside world to what we want.

One place I’ve noticed this mindset is in the development of Internet searches. Google in particular has advertised the model of the perfect search engine: when you only get one result–the exact thing you were looking for. This goal helps us to efficiently get what we want, but we also need to remember the value of encountering a world that adds to and changes us. We can change and control many things, but the more we change, the more vital it becomes that we recognize what must remain stable.

We need to avoid becoming like children who get their own way too often. There is great value in encountering a world that is not just what we desired; but that adds to and changes our desires. As we continue the onward march of discovering how to affect and improve the world around us, we must retain openness to things like character–things that define how the world works. Even as we seek to change the world for the better, we must allow the realities of the world to change us for the better.

• What areas in your life do you hope “good character” will help you in? Are you sure that what you want in those areas is what is right?
• As you read the key concepts for each quality, are there things that surprise you, or new thoughts that appear?
• Look at the In Balance section. One perspective is rarely sufficient for a right choice–we naturally need multiple factors informing us.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Authority or Majority?

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published April 17, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

A major criticism of character training programs has been that they are authoritarian in their presentation of desired behaviors¹. I remember when Character First! was originally adapted for public schools–the quality of Obedience was the most controversial, and this has not changed.

The alternative to an authority–based program (“this is what the experts think”) is a majority–based program (“this is what most people agree on”). All justifications for character or ethics training can be seen as forms or combinations of these two thoughts.

Majority­– (or “democratically–“) based ethics programs are gaining popularity due to the realization that people, in practice, pick up their personal ethical codes in an organic, relational way, not simply from an instructor or a book². We don’t hear in a class that truthfulness is good, then flip an internal switch to never lie again. Real life is more complicated than that, and relationships are a big part of that complexity.

But is this really an argument against moral instruction? No, it’s simply a long-winded rephrasing of the old truism: walk your talk. The Character First! “program” does not simply entail reading a bulletin or web page. Resources like the Members’ Library facilitate connection and relationship between people as they figure out what these principles mean on a daily basis.

• Do one of the activities from the kids section with your children.
• Hold an office brainstorming exercise on how to integrate the key concepts­­­–or what may be some different key concepts for your organization.
• Award a prize each month to whoever can present the story of some other “hero” who demonstrates the current quality.

References

¹Cooley, A (2008). Legislating character: Moral education in North Carolina’s schools. Educational Studies, 43, p.188-205.

²Jones, C. (2005). Character, virtues, and physical education. European Physical Education Review, 11(2) p.139-151.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Vocabulary of Character

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published April 3, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

I recently talked with a man who has experience running an orphanage in a particular African nation. He surprised me with the comment that certain concepts of what we would call ethical behavior appear to be completely absent from that culture. Theft, disrepair, and lying were common, accepted practices–but that wasn’t the most striking part. Surprisingly, people do harbor distrust and contempt for those they see as liars and thieves, but there is no connection to the idea that their behavior was undesirable. Even though recognized as harmful and untrustworthy, the behavior was not seen as good or bad, but simply reality. The concept of integrity as a good goal is simply not there.

We all live like this to some extent. When we don’t have a readily available concept to define a certain behavior to ourselves, there’s not much chance that we will behave that way. We are purposeful beings, and when our purpose is unclear, we will pick a new one of our own and go that direction.

If character training were boiled down to telling people, “be good,” we would soon see everyone reverting to their own personal motivations and concepts of what counts as “being good.” Character First! tries to provide some articulate concepts – some vocabulary – that people and organizations can use to think and talk clearly about what they mean when they say “be good.” As we become more familiar with these concepts, we will have more durable purposes for ethical behavior.

• Many of the Character Qualities have a definition that reveals a motivation or deeper reason for it. Can you recognize how these apply to your life?
• A major purpose of Character Recognitions is to introduce the vocabulary of character into daily life so that these concepts can become more solid.
• What are the buzzwords in your family or organization? These words and concepts probably control people’s motivations more that you realize.

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Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Part 4 - Community Building

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published March 20, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

We’ve been seeing the logic behind the Character First! Model of character implementation, and how the Members’ Library is designed to enhance your personal implementation. Step 1 is Leadership Training, Step 2 is Character Recognition, Step 3 is Teaching Resources, and Step 4 is Community Building.

A character emphasis is not a one-time event, but a process that requires supportive relationships within the group. Collaboration between members of the group, all moving forward in their understanding and application of good character, is a powerful force that grows in influence and impact. We often improve our maturity and skill unconsciously by doing things repeatedly. We can make this process even more effective if we are purposeful about it—at work, at home, in our family and, community.

- What events can be scheduled at various intervals in the future to ensure that character remains a focus of the group?

- What people within the group can gradually advance to have more influence in the character emphasis effort?

- What relationships can you purposefully build with people who will help you do what is right?

- The Library pages for “Relationships,” “For Kids,” and “For Teens” are designed to bring people together on projects.

This article is the last in a four-part series on using the Members’ Library.

Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Part 3 - Teaching Resources

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published March 6, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

In the Character First! Model of character implementation, Step 1 is Leadership Training, Step 2 is Character Recognition, and Step 3 is Teaching Resources. Here’s how the Members’ Library supports you with teaching resources.

Who do you teach? Your children? Students? Direct reports at work? Don’t treat character as a separate topic, but use every teaching situation to point out the character necessary for success in that area. Life itself is a process of learning character through experiences and relationships. Teaching resources can bring many more options to your character program, and the Members’ Library supplies lots of materials and ideas for that purpose.

- What concepts or traits do you want to focus on or get everyone thinking about? Browse the library to find the precise ideas you want to communicate.

- Do you have just the right story, example, or picture to get the point across? Do you fully understand this aspect of good character? The Members’ Library has materials specially tailored for work, home, different age groups, leadership, employees, quick glances, and thoughtful pondering.

- Remember the character qualities by watching each video, printing posters, making a craft with your children, or setting your computer desktop wallpaper.

This article is the third in a four-part series on using the Members’ Library.

Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Part 2 - Character Recognition

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published in February, 2009, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

The purpose of recognition is not to bribe or ingratiate those being praised into acting the way you want them to; it is to set real-life examples and concepts of what good character is and why it is important. The purpose of character recognition is to help everyone involved think clearly about what good character is. When you talk about various character qualities, those around you might not immediately understand what you mean or how it applies to them. (People are not, in general, used to thinking about life in terms of character.) When you praise others for specific qualities and point out the real benefits, it encourages the one receiving recognition and helps everyone think in terms of character.

- How often does your normal conversation include references to character traits in yourself or others? How often does the conversation of those around you include these concepts?

- How can you schedule times to publicly recognize others? How can you make recognition a habit?

- Look at the “How to Praise” and “On the Job” section of the library.

This article is the second in a four-part series on using the Members’ Library.

Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Part 1 – Leadership Training

I'm posting old Members' Library Home Page articles here to serve as an archive. This one was first published on December 19, 2008, at http://members.characterfirst.com.

Luke Kallberg

The Members' Library is an online portal with more than 1,000 pages designed to give you ideas and inspiration as you discover and practice good character at work, at home, and in all of life. Here’s why this material is so needed and how you can put it to work for you.

Relationships are where the success or failure of our personal character is most openly revealed. Good character breeds good relationships, and bad character destroys relationships. Therefore, any attempt to build good character must focus on our relationships.

Good character doesn’t necessarily guarantee that all of your relationships will be peachy. But if we take a close look at any successful relationship, we will find good character at the core of that success. Over the next few weeks, let me share a four step process for making good character a force in your relationships. You can tailor it to your needs using the material in this members’ library. Today’s focus is “Leadership Training.”

Leadership Training

A character emphasis needs a strong commitment from the leadership in the group or organization. Without the support of parents, a child’s efforts can seem independent or rebellious. Without the support of managers, the efforts of employees can be counterproductive and raise suspicion. But when leaders invest their support and personal example, energy and resources become available and character becomes part of the larger direction that the group is going.

- In what groups, official or not, are you a leader?

- How can your endorsement of these concepts of good character enable those under your influence to learn and implement them?

- How can your example encourage others to practice good character?

- Check out the “Leadership Tips” for each character quality

This article is the first in a four-part series on using the Members’ Library.

Luke Kallberg manages website content for the Character Training Institute.

Continuing Series

We haven't gotten archiving working on the Members' Library Home Page articles yet, so I've decided to start posting the old articles from there every week or two. That way they'll at least be online somewhere. Just to give more differentiation, I won't post them all at once, but we'll get caught up pretty quickly nonetheless.