[August 18, 2026] In my new series on leadership, I plan to write to better understand what it is, and, in conjunction with that, I will also discuss its triadic nature: mission, morality, men. One thing often missing in the conversation is its characterological element, and a mistake I’ve made is not giving serious attention to the critical importance of moral character.
Why is a leader’s character so important? As I develop this idea about the role of character, I want to bring it back to the many lessons that can be drawn from both the vast but shallow literature on the subject and apply them to the realities of becoming a leader with the necessary morals.
I’ve certainly worked with many leaders at all levels and across many different institutions, and I’ve often studied and written about the topic. My first realization has been that the literature is vast yet poor, perhaps better described as shallow. This is partly because there is no easy way to define leadership and because many different personality types are successful at leading, likely in different ways.
However, there is something in common among leaders. One way is that if you’re an actual leader, you know where you’re going; otherwise, you’ll be leading people in circles. If you cannot figure out where you’re going, you are no leader, but simply a charlatan.
Once you know where you’re going, you also have to be able to communicate it, and people have to trust you, so you actually have to be honest. People aren’t stupid; they quickly know if you are not a good leader. Then, where you’re going has to have value; otherwise, why would anyone want to go along with you?
What, then, are the common traits of a leader? Fundamentally, they are character-based. We know, for example, that the personality trait conscientiousness is a strong predictor of long-term success in most, though not all, occupations. One of the things associated with conscientiousness is keeping one’s word; being trustworthy. That is one element of a leader, especially across time and culture.
You have to be able to trust the person. A leader can even be harsh. It doesn’t matter, because you can see both harsh and kind leaders. As long as they do what they say they will do, you can follow them and know that the future payoff is secure.
Unlike what I once thought, the idea that characterological development is the most important element of leadership is a crucial psychological realization. It’s character that makes you “favored by the gods.” This is overlooked or ignored; I’m not sure which. I certainly overlooked it in my original definition.
We have forgotten this. Our formal education system in America does not emphasize the development of one’s character, and that’s very surprising, given the last decades when “leadership” has been “taught.” Perhaps the reason is that we cannot agree on what constitutes a reasonable set of character traits. So we just ignore it; a bad answer.
As a result, we don’t teach our kids what an admirable person is like, or even tell them they should try to be one. We don’t tell them that this is the most important thing they could learn. Or that if there are enough admirable people, then things work, and if there aren’t, then things break down, and life becomes terrible.
There doesn’t have to be that many in a group for success. Our school systems are, very unfortunately, actively trying to strip out those very character traits that make society work. Schools are stripping away the idea of the individual and individual character, and that is catastrophic.
This is why, at least in my way of thinking, religiously moral education is a necessary precondition for character development.
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My thoughts: A leader’s moral character is one of the most important parts of true leadership. Real leaders know where they are going and can clearly tell others about that goal. People will only follow if they trust the leader, and trust comes from honesty and keeping promises. Character traits like being reliable and conscientious help a person succeed over a long time. A leader can be strict or kind, but followers need to know the leader will do what was promised. Many books talk about leadership, yet they often skip over how much character really matters. Schools today rarely teach young people what it means to be an admirable person. Without strong character in enough people, groups and societies start to fall apart. Building good moral character often begins with solid values taught through faith and family. In the end, a leader without strong moral character is not a true leader at all.