{"id":1383,"date":"2014-07-10T07:46:40","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T11:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=1383"},"modified":"2014-07-10T07:46:40","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T11:46:40","slug":"character-can-it-be-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trustacrossamerica.com\/blog\/?p=1383","title":{"rendered":"Character: Can it Be Learned?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Yesterday I wrote about a commonly repeated expression “Trust Takes Years to Build But Can Be Lost In a Second”<\/a>\u00a0and why I believe that it doesn’t always hold true. \u00a0Then late in the afternoon I saw another interesting and somewhat popular statement “Character, Either You Have it Or You Don’t.”<\/p>\n

The actual quote is credited\u00a0to Anthony Bourdain.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSkills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.\u201d<\/h1>\n


\u2015\u00a0<\/span>Anthony Bourdain<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

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Sorry, but again I have to disagree. Character is a learned trait. It is a skill that can be honed throughout life. \u00a0It’s built from our earliest experiences, our family values and the influence of our childhood friends. In other words, it’s mostly\u00a0“nurture” not “nature.”<\/p>\n

Michael Josephson (Josephson Institute) created a popular youth-centered program called Character Counts<\/a>. His\u00a0framework contains basic values called the Six Pillars of Character: <\/a>trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The program has been working effectively for decades. I like that the first pillar is trustworthiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

So it seems that character is really a lifelong learning opportunity for those with an open mind and a motivation to elevate it. With the right mentor, the right leader, the right boss, the right spouse, the right friends, character can be learned and perfected throughout life. There is no deadline for developing character.<\/p>\n

Imagine if C-Suite compensation was partially based on an annual character test! Would we see a sudden and positive shift in the way businesses are run? What do you think?<\/p>\n

Barbara Brooks Kimmel<\/strong>\u00a0is the Executive Director of\u00a0Trust Across America-Trust Around the World<\/a>\u00a0whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning\u00a0TRUST INC.<\/a>\u00a0book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.<\/p>\n

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