Character-Based Leadership

Griffin Max, Andi Lipic, Aniyah Small, Andrew Guillaume, Tyler Wiersema, Will
Hoover
Business Administration, Trine University
COM 213 01: Business Communications
Professor DePriest
April 10, 2023

Character Based Leadership 1

 Table of Contents

Executive Summary.................................................................................3

Introduction.............................................................................................4

Survey Results.........................................................................................5

Interviews.................................................................................................7

Application to the Business World & Student’s Lives.............................8

Recommendations...................................................................................11

Conclusions.............................................................................................12

Reference Page.......................................................................................13

Appendix.................................................................................................14

Character Based Leadership 1

 Executive Summary
The purpose of this study was to investigate how Character-Based Leadership affects, or
can affect, the success of a person/company within the Business Administration field. While also
determining the percentage of individuals that had a prior understanding of Character-Based
Leadership to see if there was a correlation between their knowledge and success. The majority
of students surveyed were studying Business Administration and were questioned as to how they
thought Character-Based Leadership would fit the team dynamic of a business. During the
survey, the students were asked questions pertaining to their already existing knowledge of
Character-Based Leadership, how they could personally use Character-Based Leadership in their
daily lives, how someone around them could use this information to improve a team dynamic,
and how they might use this information going forward to perform better in the workplace and in
group settings. In conclusion, the results found that Character-Based Leadership is a valuable
skill to have within the workplace to be able to better connect and understand different
personalities and their corresponding decisions within the business field.

Character Based Leadership 1

 Introduction
Leaders are everywhere in the world. They are in classrooms, on sports teams, and in
work environments, but one of the most debated ideas in the world is what is the best way to
lead. There are many ways to be a leader and all different types of leaders can be found. One
way to lead in the workplace is by character. Character-Based Leadership is a form of leadership
defined as how the personality and morals of a leader affect their decisions. For a leader to be an
example of Character-Based Leadership in the workplace, they must work each day to show their
employees that they are trustworthy (Camp, Brenda). One way a leader can show this is by
practicing and upholding certain characteristics including humility, respect, truth, and honor
(Caldwell, 2017). These characteristics that a leader lives out reflect the morals and virtues that
they live their life by. Toby Newstead, a professor in Business and Economics, talked about
virtue-based leadership and explained, “Good Leadership is practiced by people of good
character” (Newstead, 2021). Character-Based Leadership allows leaders and followers to work
together with a level of mutual respect and trust between each other. By Character-Based leaders
making decisions based on values and morals rather than power, the company has a better chance
of success and flow throughout the company.

Character Based Leadership 1

 Survey Results

To conduct even further research on Character-Based Leadership a survey was sent out to
determine if the students at Trine University are familiar with the concept of Character-Based
Leadership, and how they have seen it used in their lives thus far. The respondents were first
asked if they had ever heard of Character-Based Leadership based on the definition given to
them. The results were heavily skewed toward respondents having never heard of Character-
Based Leadership before. About 71% of our participants said that they had never heard of
Character-Based Leadership before, while about 29% said that they had heard of it before. A
definition was then provided to the participants to establish what was meant by Character-Based
Leadership to establish an overall understanding. This allowed the participants to reflect on
where they have seen Character-Based Leadership before even though at the time they did not
know what it was. After the definition was provided the participants were able to give numerous
examples.
The second question that was posed to the respondents was, “How could you apply this
method of leadership to your everyday life?” The respondents all gave very similar answers
which included letting values and morals guide decisions, leading others by example, going
above and beyond, leading in everyday life, and giving positive encouragement to classmates.
The third question that the participants answered was, “How did someone you know use
Character-Based Leadership skills to improve a team environment?” Those interviewed mostly
spoke of their coaches, professors, and bosses being the ones they had seen using Character-
Based Leadership. One of the respondents talked about his football coach who taught their team
to act morally when they were on the field and when they were off the field. Their coach would
also hold all the players accountable for their actions. Another respondent talked about how
Coach Bussard from the NCAA Hockey Team demonstrates Character-Based Leadership

Character Based Leadership 1

because he takes charge of the team and goes above and beyond even though he is an assistant
coach.
The other respondents talked about leaders who would check in on the group and hold
them accountable, how the leader would use positive language, how they would lead by example
and would define a common goal. The final question that was asked was, “How would this be a
helpful form of leadership when working in a group?” The respondents' answers aligned very
closely with the research that has been found. The results were almost unanimous with most of
the participants answering that Character-Based Leadership is helpful when working in a group
in order to increase the team dynamic and increase overall productivity. This is done because of
increased cooperation overall and each group member having the opportunity to work to their
full potential. One participant added to the idea that since a group is full of all different kinds of
leaders that Character-Based Leadership would allow for each group member to become the best
leader possible by leading based on their personality. Another respondent added to the idea that it
could be used to make the right decisions, even though they might be hard to make.

Character Based Leadership 1

 Interviews
Leadership is a major aspect of being a business owner, manager, and employee.
Leadership is something that drives success and work ethic throughout a company. Based on
multiple interviews from leaders in the business world, specifically in the fields of Business
Administration, Character-Based Leadership is an important and useful style of leadership.
Being a leader in the workplace means being respectable. This respect is earned through your
character and actions as an individual.
Ryan Wiersema is the Superintendent of installation at KONE Americas in Fort Wayne
Indiana. Being a superintendent, he has experienced many ways to become a successful leader.
He believes that to be a leader, you must possess three main characteristics: loyalty,
determination, and compassion. These three-core Character-Based Leadership qualities create a
good balance within the workplace. However, good leaders may not always have those specific
qualities. Every person can lead differently and have unique qualities that will still display good
leadership in the workplace.
Another interesting interview with Steve Lipic, the owner and president of Lipic’s
Engagement explained that Character-Based Leadership is an effective style of leadership
because it inspires and encourages employees to work together and efficiently. Lipic’s
Engagement, a small promotional product firm in St. Louis, MO, emphasizes on employee
engagement and recognition programs. Being the President of such a company, Steve was able to
give insight on how Character-Based Leadership is found more often in small businesses rather
than in large corporations where authoritative leaders are found.
Diana Fenton, National Sales Executive for the HCP Division of The MedPro Group was
also interviewed and uses her Character-Based Leadership skills every day in her professional
life. Diana is very focused on her integrity and morale building within her many agents across
the nation. Sales is a competitive field and that even carries over to individuals within a team of
an organization. To balance that, she must maintain a high level of fairness and make sure that
everyone is treated equally and with respect despite the higher performers and lower performers
at any given time. With a very high emotional intelligence and fantastic understanding of the
strengths and weaknesses of the team she can designate responsibilities effectively. For students
looking to develop their Character-Based Leadership skills, she recommends studying good
leaders and eventually leaving comfort zones to practice skills observed from said leaders.
Another interview that was conducted was with Angela Small. Angela Small is currently
the Operations Lieutenant at the Federal Reserve Branch in Detroit, Michigan. Small explained
that having character while leading establishes trust with your team. She also said that it gives
your team the autonomy to be leaders themselves all while still teaching and guiding in case a
mistake is made. Small included that having character while leading allows you to give feedback
that is not demeaning which makes for a better overall environment in the workplace. While

Character Based Leadership 1

Small’s official position is in Law Enforcement, this concept of Character-Based Leadership can
be applied to all positions in an administrative role where overseeing and leading others is
necessary.
Ms. Kayle Johnson was the next professional that was interviewed. Ms. Kayle Johnson,
who is a former Business Administration alum and now is the Associate Minister of Outreach
and Communication at the Christian Campus House. She defines Character-Based Leadership as
developing the people that a leader is meeting and is leading. She explained that it is not just
about the leader getting the people that are being led to do tasks but investing in them. Kayle
uses Character-Based Leadership by prioritizing investing in the students on Trine’s campus over
program planning and desk work. Kayle believes that Character-Based Leadership is important
because the leaders that are in place now need to develop the future leaders. Otherwise, in the
future leaders will have to struggle trying to learn how to lead most effectively. Kayle gave an
example of Character-Based Leadership which was the worship team at CCH being able to keep
going even though the leader was not there due to surgery. Kayle explained that it showed how
much he invested in his team because they knew what to do even though he was not there to
guide them.
Corey Hoover was the last business professional that we interviewed about Character-
Based Leadership. Corey Hoover is the owner of an HVAC business named “Hoover Plumbing
Heating and Cooling” that does both residential and commercial work throughout many counties
across northeast Indiana. Sharing ownership of the business with his father, Corey stated that his
entire working career he has been fortunate enough to be around great leaders. He stated that
Character-Based Leadership is very important to the success of an organization because there are
so many different personalities in the world, and in order to be successful employee's
personalities must be able to gel with their superiors. Corey used his father as an example of
someone who is a great leader. He stated that his dad is the reason for where he’s at today. The
way he owned and operated the business for so many years motivated and inspired Corey to do
the same.

Application to Student Lives

Character Based Leadership 1
 Any form of leadership is an important skill to develop as a young adult student and
applying character to a leadership style is imperative to gaining the respect of peers. Five traits
that all good Character-Based leaders share are integrity, trustworthiness, emotional intelligence,
openness, and motivation. These are all important to apply in activities business students
participate in. Integrity measures a leader’s quality of character and is important because it is the
foundation for understanding relationships and how they must function in a team environment.
The integrity of students is tested all the time through their dedication to helping a team in a
project or even something as simple as getting the work done in a timely manner.
Trustworthiness is a must-have quality for a leader in all contexts. Building trust will lead to
team building, higher morale, stronger bonds, and more productive leadership. In team
environments for students, trust is simply knowing that one will pull their weight when it comes
to the work. It must be done when needed and to an acceptable standard of quality for the group
and it is very common for one or two members to slack and then lose all the trust, they would
ever get from the group by simply doing nothing. Emotional Intelligence leads to more of the
leadership qualities of a Character-Based leader. A high Emotional Intelligence will better allow
a leader to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their team and will better inform their
decisions when it comes to dividing the responsibilities and even troubleshooting issues within
the team when needed. Openness is also a quality necessary in a Character-Based Leader and it
is key to the other point of building trust. Too many appointed leaders will not admit their own
flaws and shortcomings and will hold back the team because they will not ask for help. The best
leaders are the ones who are not afraid to admit when they need help and turn to their teams for
feedback or assistance when necessary. Especially in a student environment where they may
have sports, clubs, or activities in their personal lives, it is okay to be open about those things
and admit that help is needed to complete the project. The last quality needed in a good
Character-Based leader is motivation. The hunger to complete the project at a high standard of
quality and in a timely manner is something that really defines a good Character-Based Leader
and will set them apart from those who lack this quality.
Any shortcomings with these qualities will prove it difficult to maximize a student’s
potential in Character-Based Leadership. When lacking integrity, a good moral compass is also
lacking and therefore it will be difficult to keep the team on the right track with honesty and hard
work. Cutting corners never works in the long run and that includes group projects in college.
For example, using an AI generated report for a group would be low quality, but more
importantly, the group would be less knowledgeable on the subject and the presentation would in
turn be of lower quality. Cutting corners never works out for the best and it takes a good
understanding of integrity to keep a team striving for excellent results through hard and honest
work. A shortcoming in trustworthiness applied to a situation of a group project would be quite
disastrous. The attitude and morale of the group will be shattered because team members cannot
be trusted to do the work they are assigned. This would also affect the attitude team members
will have toward an appointed leader. A lack of emotional intelligence would lead to
disorganization of the group and its responsibilities. Understanding people is key to best
assigning responsibilities and roles within a team. If there is a natural introvert presenting, they
will not be in their most natural and comfortable spot whereas if they were an editor, they would
be better able to show their talents. Openness is key when working in college groups. Making
sure everyone is on the same page with overlaps in schedules and even struggles is key to a well-
functioning team because members will be able to support each other when needed. Without that
support the quality of the work will drop and in turn, the trust within the team will also be
Character Based Leadership 1
affected negatively. The absence of motivation is one of the most common downfalls to college
teams. Who wants to go out of their way to work with a group on a project anyway? Without the
motivation and the ability to motivate others, you will get social loafing, poor quality work, and
even sometimes tardy work. The positive side to all of this is that every single quality mentioned
above are qualities that can be worked on and improved. If a student strives to develop each of
these qualities, they will be well on their way to becoming an excellent Character-Based Leader
among their peers. This will lead to more responsibility in extracurricular activities, in the
classroom, and even future employment when they graduate.

Recommendations
Character Based Leadership 1
 Drawn from our survey, interviews, and research, the conclusion is that Character-Based
Leadership is a great way to lead and should be followed by almost all leaders in the business
world. With this conclusion, students should work to get to know themselves and learn what
values and morals are important to their own selves. Students need to know what image they
want to present themselves in and then their leadership style will follow those morals. Character-
Based Leadership is not always the easiest option, as power is usually something everyone wants
to have, but it is something that one should work to live out. This is why everyone must practice
Character-Based Leadership in their everyday lives. Students can do this through school projects,
internships, and even summer jobs. Practicing these skills and living out personal morals will
help one to make future leadership decisions based on the Character-Based Leadership style. By
following Character-Based Leadership and making decisions based on one’s own personal
values and morals, the people one works with will have more trust and respect in them. Possibly,
making them want to do their job rather than having to force them to do their job. It can also
create an atmosphere of support and flow because people are willing to work with the team. This
is because they are not afraid, and they can trust in one's ability to lead and make decisions.

Conclusion

Character Based Leadership 1

 In conclusion, Character-Based Leadership is an influential part of life and plays a key-
factor role in making and maintaining a successful workplace environment. The research shows
that having a strong characteristic leader promotes growth and wealth within the workplace.
Another part of having a strong Character-Based Leader involves having strong morals. Having
strong morals will hold the individual's team around them at a higher level and will perform in an
ethical fashion. As demonstrated in the graphs, peers are not too familiar with Character-Based
Leadership but have a basic understanding of what leadership and morals are needed in their
everyday lives. The survey also gave a better understanding of how people portray Character-
Based Leadership and shows what they believe is morally correct. The interviews provided a
deeper understanding from experienced professionals revolving around Character-Based
Leadership. The surveys helped demonstrate how Character-Based Leadership is translated into
the workplace, giving us a deeper look at its benefits, and seeing how it will positively affect
businesses. Having Character-Based Leadership within the workplace is a crucial factor whether
that be for a large corporation or a small business owner because all types of businesses need to
be organized and built on a morally correct foundation. Building a morally stable business will
furthermore help promote a healthy and safe workplace environment. Character-Based
Leadership can also be applied to student lives through five main traits. Those are integrity,
trustworthiness, emotional intelligence, openness, and motivation. With a combination of these
five traits, the school can build morally high individuals and help develop more peers to build a
respectable environment within the university. Having students learn these valuable traits at an
early age can help promote growth within the workplace and will provide basic knowledge of
ethics preventing immoral behavior. Incorporating Character-Based Leadership into your future
will benefit you as an individual, especially in times like today where morals can make or break
a business.

References
Character Based Leadership 1
Caldwell, Cam. “Lakota Virtues and Leadership Principles: Insights and Applications for Ethical
Leaders.” Journal of Management Development, vol. 36, no. 3, 2017, pp. 309–318.,
https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-03-2016-0038.
Camp, Brenda van. “The Importance of Character in Leadership.” LinkedIn,
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-character-leadership-brenda-van-camp.
Crossan, Gandz, Seitjs. “Developing Leadership Character.” Ivey Business Journal, 20 July
2021, https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/developing-leadership-character/
#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20leadership,in%20his%20or%20her
%20competencies.
Edmonds, J. (2016, June 6). Character driven leadership - 12 traits. insightfulaccountant.com.
Retrieved March 26, 2023, from
https://www.intuitiveaccountant.com/in-the-news/people-and-business/character-driven-
leadership-12-traits/
Eller, R., & Eller, R. (2013, May 13). Leadership virtues. Ryan Eller | Transformation Through
Transparency. Retrieved March 26, 2023, from https://ryaneller.com/tag/leadership-
virtues/
Hannah, Sean T., and Bruce J. Avolio. "The locus of leader character." The Leadership
Quarterly 22.5 (2011): 979-983.
Kristine Schulz. “Surgical Training and Education in Promoting Professionalism: A
Comparative Assessment of Virtue-Based Leadership Development in Otolaryngology- Head
and Neck Surgery Residents.” Taylor & Francis, Michael J. Papa, 29 Oct. 2013,
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/meo.v18i0.22440.
Marchand, Donald A.; Mazutis. “Leadership and Character.” IMD Business School for
Management and Leadership Courses, 2 Dec. 2022,
www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/leadership-and-character/.
Newstead, Toby. “Being Explicit About Virtues: Analyzing Ted Talks and Integrating
Scholarship to Advance Virtues-Based Leadership Development.” Journal of Business
Ethics, vol. 181, no. 2, 2021, pp. 335–353., https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04966-2.
P.Hannah S.T, and Avolio B.J. “Moral Potency: Building the Capacity for Character-Based
Leadership.” Consulting Psychology Journal, vol. 62, no. 4, 2010, pp. 291–310.,
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022283.
Quick, James Campbell, and Thomas A. Wright. "Character-based leadership, context and
consequences." The Leadership Quarterly 22.5 (2011): 984-988.
Rupčić, Nataša. “Character-Based Leadership and Tacit Knowledge for Learning and
Resilience.” The Learning Organization, vol. 28, no. 6, 2021, pp. 560–568.,
https://doi.org/10.1108/TLO-09-2021-274.
Top Rated Article. “Character-based Leadership.” Robert M Kakos, 12 October 2015,
https://www.robertkakos.com/character-based-leadership/. Accessed 8 February 2023.

Character Based Leadership 1

Wilson, J.L. “So You Want to Be a Leader? Character and Leadership Fundamentals for College
Students Earl E. Paul.” Journal of College Student Development, vol. 49, no. 4, 2008, pp.
394–395.

Appendix

Character Based Leadership 1

This graph shows if our respondents have ever heard of Character-Based Leadership before.

This graph shows how our respondents feel that they will be able to apply Character-Based Leadership

to their everyday life.

Character Based Leadership 1

 This graph shows which leaders our respondents thought best showed Character-Based

Leadership.

Character Based Leadership 1

Character Based Leadership 1