How A Strong Sense of Character and Resilience are Related

A strong sense of character and resilience are intimately related. People with these two characteristics know how to deal with challenging reality and adversity. For those who are unsure if they have a strong sense of character and resilience it could be due to invisible barriers (those internal things we can’t see).

Invisible Barriers Affect Your Character and Resilience

We have all experienced invisible barriers at some point in our lives; one invisible barrier is a lack of awareness, which in turn creates a hijacking moment when we are unaware of specific details. A hijacking moment happens out of the blue and derails you from what you were on track to accomplish, sometimes leaving you stuck depending on the situation. Invisible barriers negatively affect a strong sense of character!

Sally Jones was interviewing with a 5-Star organization as an outsider; before interviewing for the job she researched the organization from the ground up. She knew her chances were slim for being accepted as an outsider but, she was so intrigued she thought what do I have to lose. There were over twenty candidates narrowed down to three, Sally made it to the top three.

She recognized one of the candidates and thought OK, there is no chance I’ll make this next cut. Her invisible barrier told her, “You don’t measure up to the experience of trying to compete with the previous Mayor of your town. You’re just a small-town girl with BIG ambitions and passion to learn all I can about leadership. The Mayor has all the experience.”

Sally could have walked out of the lobby and headed back home totally intimidated, but she didn’t. She had been learning about invisible barriers that hijack success; she used what she learned and decided to shoot for the interview. She figured she would be more upset with herself if she didn’t try, rather than trying and not succeeding or as she had learned – failing forward.

A Strong Sense of Character and Resilience is Empowering!

Having a strong sense of character and resilience is empowering and helps you achieve your goals confidently. You will seek to include resilient people with a strong sense of character to your inner circle. Having a plan to rejuvenate your character that is structured but allows flexibility for growth and development – lends itself to content of amplifying character.

What is meant by content of character? Martin Luther King, Jr. said:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

mARTIN lUTHER kING, jR

Sally knew enough not to judge character. She focused her attention on what she could provide, feedback to questions – some she knew she didn’t have all the answers to. She gave  insight into her experience through personal stories; something she found out later that set her apart from everyone else.

The Principle of HEART

Rather than evaluating character superficially – see, hear, think and feel; evaluate the content of character by personal qualities. One of the first things Sally learned on the job was the principle of HEART with discernment. HEART with discernment is a principled strategy an (ACRONYM) grounded in character and resilience. In other words, Sally learned to look for renewed strength, success or achievement resulting from tenacious effort, or overcoming a difficulty. She developed a strong sense of character!

Horizon is the first principle of HEART. What is on the Horizon (near future) for your team? How will you communicate what is beyond the Horizon in a way that is compelling for your team?  

The idea of HEART fits nicely with the metaphor of a lighthouse, above and below the surface. Let me explain. A leaders integrity and motivation are below the surface, the foundation, where character and resilience lives. A leader will spend much time working on their foundation, this is how they become a great leader, not overnight, not in a day – week – month or year but; continuously one day at a time. Learn more about HEART and Resilience.

Real Life Questions About HEART

Sally had questions about HEART. She reached out to her new mentor and asked for an hour of his time. During the meeting Sally asked the following questions:

Sally: Whatis the H in heart?

Mentor: Horizon. It’s a vision, your vision.

Sally: I’m confused, I have visions for different things. Where is the Horizon you are referring to?

Mentor: Either in the near future similar to a short-term vision or maybe it’s further out, similar to a long-term vision. In some cases leaders what to know what is beyond the Horizon.

Sally: Who needs to know about the Horizon?

Mentor: As a leader you need to know, and your team needs to know too! The Horizon gives you and your team something to look forward to in your department and or in the company.

Sally: Why does my team or I need to know about the Horizon?

Mentor: You need to know where you’re going – if not any ‘olé direction will do. However, is that really true?

Sally: Well no, not really! 

Mentor: What is your vision for where you want to go here in your department or the company? Do you want to increase retention rates of staff, do you want to create a volunteer training program for new mentors; what is your vision?

Sally, I’m not quite sure, I need to think about my Horizon.

Sally: Once I decide on the Horizon, how will I communicate the Horizon in a way that is compelling to my team?

Mentor: You must create passion. What are you and your team passionate about?

Sally: I’m a small-town girl with BIG ambitions and passion to learn all I can about leadership. I don’t know what my team is passionate about.

Mentor: As you continue to grow and develop with our company it will be important for you to know what excites your team about the future? If you don’t know these answers spend some time with your team and find out. What you discover will help you communicate the Horizon in a compelling way.

Sally: Ok is that it?

Mentor: No there is one more thing. Once you know where you are going, assign three values to your Horizon. This will help ignite passion, purpose, and energy into the Horizon.

“A person can have heart without leading, but a leader can’t lead well without heart.”
~ unknown

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CONCLUSION

Leaders who have a vision beyond the Horizon are passionate, they have a strong sense of character, and they are fueled by something greater than themselves and it gets them out of bed in the morning with vigor. Take the time to figure out what your vision is personally and for your team in the near future and beyond the Horizon.

I am interested in reading your comments. Please share this post with your friends. If you would like to talk more about invisible barriers, and or seeing beyond the Horizon, I would love to chat!

Let’s Chat!

P.S. I use the speaking platform to get the message out about invisible barriers that hijack success. Which organization do you know of interested in hiring a speaker?