{"id":5317,"date":"2016-06-14T07:34:46","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T12:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=5317"},"modified":"2016-06-14T09:14:12","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T14:14:12","slug":"3-character-warning-lights-leaders-must-recognize-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2016\/06\/14\/3-character-warning-lights-leaders-must-recognize-2\/","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

\"Check<\/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\u00a0of the most important character warning lights for leaders:<\/p>\n

The \u201chumble-brag\u201d warning light<\/strong><\/h2>\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\u201d.<\/p>\n

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

The exaggeration warning light<\/strong><\/h2>\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

The rationalization warning light.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Corruption rarely begins with a calculated plan to extort massive 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

 <\/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":5319,"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":[5,738,478,7,581],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discipline2","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-leadership","category-self-assessment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317","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=5317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5322,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317\/revisions\/5322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}