Character in leadership is the set of qualities that determine what a leader will actually do when a situation tests them, such as integrity, accountability, courage, humility, and judgment. Competence describes what a leader can do; character predicts what they will do, and it can be developed through practice and feedback like any other capability.
Character versus competence
Leadership researchers at Ivey Business School describe leadership as resting on three pillars: competencies, character, and commitment. In their framing, competencies determine what leaders can do, while character determines what they will do in different situations. They call character the least understood of the three.
That distinction explains a familiar pattern. Organizations promote people for skill and results, then discover that the same people avoid hard conversations, shade the truth under pressure, or take credit and shift blame. The competence was real. The character had not been examined.
Leader character dimensions
The Ivey framework, developed by Mary Crossan, Gerard Seijts, and Jeffrey Gandz and set out in their 2015 book Developing Leadership Character, names eleven dimensions, each linked to concrete behaviors that can be developed.
| Dimension | What it looks like in practice |
|---|---|
| Accountability | Owns commitments and outcomes, including failures |
| Integrity | Words, commitments, and actions are consistent |
| Judgment | Makes sound decisions with incomplete information |
| Courage | Raises hard issues and takes unpopular positions when needed |
| Humility | Seeks input, admits limits, learns from others |
| Justice | Treats people fairly and makes decisions transparently |
| Temperance | Stays calm and measured under pressure |
| Collaboration | Works across boundaries and builds on others’ ideas |
| Drive | Pursues goals with energy and persistence |
| Humanity | Shows consideration and empathy |
| Transcendence | Looks beyond self-interest toward a larger purpose |
DorWay’s work centers on two of these, integrity and accountability, because they are where character becomes visible to a team. People cannot see a leader’s humility or judgment directly, but they can see whether the leader does what they said they would.
How character development works
Character is often treated as fixed: either someone has it or they do not. The research view is more practical. Character dimensions show up as habits, and habits change with deliberate practice. Effective character development usually involves:
- Self-insight from evidence. Leaders see feedback from colleagues on specific behaviors, not just their own view. This often reveals that a strength in one dimension (drive) is crowding out another (humility).
- Balance, not maximization. Too much of one dimension without others becomes a weakness. Courage without temperance becomes recklessness; collaboration without courage becomes avoidance.
- Practice in real situations. Leaders choose one or two behaviors and practice them in their actual work, with a coach or peer group checking in.
- Reflection on what happened. After each attempt, the leader reviews what they did, what it cost, and what they learned.
Coaching is well suited to this because it works on the leader’s real decisions over months. See personal development coaching for how that process typically runs, and personal values for the values work that often comes first.
Success metrics for character development
Character development is measurable if you measure behavior rather than reputation. Useful metrics include:
- Multi-rater ratings on specific behaviors, repeated at six and twelve months. For example: “raises concerns in the meeting rather than afterward.”
- Commitment reliability: the share of commitments delivered as agreed or renegotiated before the deadline.
- Team indicators: fewer escalations, less rework, more issues raised early.
- Critical incidents: how the leader handled a specific high-pressure situation, reviewed with a coach or manager.
Avoid relying on satisfaction scores or self-ratings alone. For more on measuring integrity specifically, see integrity assessment. DorWay’s PACT™ Leadership Assessment provides a baseline on how leaders make and keep agreements.
Why character matters to organizations
Organizations are, in DorWay’s view, Networks of Agreements™: every handoff, plan, and decision is a commitment between people. Leaders with strong character make clearer commitments, keep them, and renegotiate openly when they cannot. That reliability is what lets others plan, take risks, and trust what they are told. When character is weak, the network frays: people stop believing deadlines, hedge their own commitments, and spend time protecting themselves. The eight leadership practices give a structure for building character into daily work rather than treating it as a separate topic.
FAQ
What is character in leadership?
It is the set of qualities, such as integrity, accountability, courage, and judgment, that shape what a leader actually does when tested. It complements competence, which describes what a leader is able to do.
Can leadership character be developed?
Yes. Character dimensions appear as habits of behavior, and those habits change with feedback, deliberate practice in real situations, and reflection over time.
How do you measure character in leaders?
Measure observable behaviors through repeated colleague ratings, records of how commitments are kept, and reviews of how leaders handled specific high-pressure situations.
Why is character important in leadership?
Because people follow what leaders do more than what they say. Leaders with strong character make commitments others can rely on, which builds trust and makes coordination easier.