Character in Leaders

Character in Leaders:
The issue of “character” in leaders and hence their leadership appears to challenge many individual who would like to aspire to leadership or be known as a leader.
The individual’s ability to build ‘character’ which in turn permeates their leadership proves to elude many a man who hunger to be called or known as “leaders.”

To day in the 21st century, the mirrors that show the character or lack of character in leadership are more than they have ever been in human history. Possibly because today distances are shorter due to technology, information is transmitted in real-time and visibility is high. The world has reached a point where, it doesn’t matter which country town or village you are in the chances of you bumping into someone who knows something about you at least remotely ( it could be about your community, organisation, discipline, business or faith)or knows someone you. The probability chances are nine out of ten. For instance I’m Kenyan, it’s unlikely that I’ll go anywhere in the world where someone will not have heard of either the prowess of Kenyan long-distance runners, the awe-inspiring wildlife in our game parks or the recent election violence… something that will be linked to me.
No people group are obscure and unheard of anymore be it for good or for bad. This makes the issue of character in leaders all the more critical as a leader is not only leading those next to them, but the wider human family miles away from them.

Which takes me to the questions:-
1. What is leadership and what is character?
2. Is character essential for a leader?
3. How would we best define leaders of character?
4. Can we “see” character in leaders?
5. Can one be a leader without having character in their basic make-up, their core being?
6. How best can we inculcate ‘character’ into the individuals who aspire to be or already are perceived as leaders?

Think about it……