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.