{"id":3983,"date":"2014-07-14T16:26:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T21:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=3983"},"modified":"2014-07-14T16:26:19","modified_gmt":"2014-07-14T21:26:19","slug":"3-character-warning-lights-leaders-must-recognize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2014\/07\/14\/3-character-warning-lights-leaders-must-recognize\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Character Warning Lights Leaders Must Recognize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wouldn\u2019t it be great if there was a \u201ccheck engine\u201d light for a leader\u2019s character?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those of us who are mechanically dis-inclined rely on our car\u2019s dashboard warning lights to remind us to pay attention to a small engine problem early on, before it grows to become a big, expensive calamity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes to issues of a character, leaders also need to pay attention to the early warning signs so they can take corrective measures before things get out of hand.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The key to maintaining your sterling leadership character is to recognize the early warning signs so you can take corrective measures.<\/p>\n

Here are 3 of the most important character warning lights for leaders:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 <\/strong>The \u201chumble-brag\u201d warning light<\/strong><\/p>\n

Long before over-the-top arrogance sets in, subtle hints can appear in the form of the humble-brag (highlighting personal accomplishments under a thinly-veiled veneer of humility). Leaders using social media must be especially careful of this; for example, \u201cCan\u2019t believe we\u2019re growing at a 25% rate while so many others are struggling. #humbled.”<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a short walk from a humble-brag to full-blown arrogance.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 <\/strong>The exaggeration warning light<\/strong><\/p>\n

Out-and-out lying often begins as innocuously as simple exaggeration.<\/p>\n

In an earlier post<\/a> I pointed out that leaders who succumb to the temptation to use hyperbole in their communication (\u201cThat was our best event ever!\u201d) they run the risk of taking a credibility hit.<\/p>\n

But a larger concern can also loom. Because when hyperbole and exaggeration appear, it can be a slippery slope to utter fabrication and deception.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 <\/strong>The rationalization warning light.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Corruption rarely begins with a calculated plan to extort massive of funds from one\u2019s own organization.<\/p>\n

Usually it begins as innocently as shaving a few minutes off the work day or getting a bit sloppy with one\u2019s expense report.<\/p>\n

The warning light appears when you begin to rationalize these indiscretions. \u201cNo one will miss a few sheets of paper\u201d or \u201cI work hard at other times; why shouldn\u2019t I take off a few minutes early?\u201d<\/p>\n

When you start rationalizing like this you can end up disqualified from leadership.<\/p>\n

Character loss creeps up on you, one unchecked minor indiscretion at a time.<\/p>\n

But if you learn to recognize the warning lights you can keep the character of your leadership right on track.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wouldn\u2019t it be great if there was a \u201ccheck engine\u201d light for a leader\u2019s character? Those of us who are mechanically dis-inclined rely on our car\u2019s dashboard warning lights to remind us to pay attention to a small engine problem early on, before it grows to become a big, expensive calamity. When it comes to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,738,478,7,581,585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-action","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-leadership","category-self-assessment","category-wisdom-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3983"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3988,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3983\/revisions\/3988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}