Can character lead to greatness? Learn why character is the ultimate key to professional success.
Greatness Comes from Character
When someone joins a company and turns out to be a bad fit, the consequences can hurt. The average cost of a bad hire is up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings. Poor dynamics hurt team morale and productivity. The company must spend time and money to fire the employee. It’s expensive and time consuming to recruit and retrain a replacement.
But choosing and promoting the right people is hard. That’s because companies know the least about the most important thing: their character. A resume tells you what candidates have accomplished in previous roles, but not who they are.
The CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang, recently claimed, “Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character.”
Why is character so important at work? Strong character is the rocket fuel for individual and company growth. Employees with good character foster a culture of commitment and achievement in their teams.
Actions Reveal Character
Character is defined by our values. They govern our actions. They include honesty, integrity, humility, and work ethic. What we do, rather than what we say, reveals what we truly believe.
Pause and think back on your own colleagues. Have you ever worked with someone whose integrity made them stand out? Can you think of their name or face without too much effort?
Now, have you ever been on a team with a person you couldn’t trust? How long did it take to recall that name? How were you able to identify people with strong or weak character? Because humans naturally observe and judge each other’s character.
We Struggle to Measure Character
Don’t we already ask about someone’s character in the recruitment process?
We don’t. We see glowing references from a handful of their biggest career advocates. And we often put candidates through lengthy personality assessments.
These tools can be helpful. Thousands of hiring managers use reference checking tools. But, these tools are unreliable for predicting future performance. They have a strong bias for the candidate. They focus narrowly on performance or skills. References aren’t checked until the end of the interview process.
Recent data shows that character is a step above when it comes to predicting how someone will perform at work.
A LinkedIn poll of nearly 1,700 recruiters and professionals confirmed what we all know in our gut – character matters the most in people we hire and work with.
The magic question is, “How can we credibly assess a candidate or colleague’s character?”
The Right People
We all like to believe that we tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth when asked about ourselves. But that’s not the case, and it’s a primary culprit in our broken hiring.
If we want reliable insights about character, we need to ask the right people the right questions. The right people are colleagues. They have firsthand insights from working together throughout their career. Not just hand picked champions, but a broad network of teammates, managers, peers, and contractors.
The right questions focus on people’s most powerful traits. These are integrity, humility, work ethic, honesty, respect, and harmony. They do not just focus on past performance or hard skills.
Character assessments from people who have worked closely with you can make everyone better.
Candidates Win with Character
Sure, character assessments sound great for recruiters and hiring managers. What’s in it for you as a professional?
Simple. Across industries, job types, and tenures, one blazing truth stands out. Top performers crave feedback. Feedback mixed with action spurs growth, and growth is the calling card of the very best at whatever they do. Welcoming character insights from your peers and colleagues sets you apart.
Gunning to get on the big new project team? Hoping to catch the attention of the director in the other department? Fighting for recruiter attention hiring a coveted new position? Want powerful data to back up your case? Getting balanced character assessments from those who know your work the best is a big step up from canned interview responses and cheerleader references.
Nobody’s perfect. Not you, not the recruiter, not your boss. Instead of fearing feedback, embrace it. Spotlight your character strengths – validated by your peers – so others know the true you. Own what you need to improve, and show the steps you are taking. Earn the trust of your team by your character.
Adam Grant, the renowned organizational psychologist, calls on professionals to not fear feedback. “By admitting your inadequacies,” Grant explains, “you show that you’re self-aware enough to know your areas for improvement – and secure enough to be open about them.”
Make Character Count
“People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Character isn’t inherited. It isn’t static. Life invites us every single day to develop our character. Imagine workplaces where character is valued, rewarded, and supported.
We have a chance to make character count at work. This is true for professionals seeking career growth, leaders building teams, and recruiters seeking top candidates.
Let’s take it.