Connecting to Admired Leadership

Character is Revealed in Success, Not Just Failure

Episode Summary

A conversation with Ben Stringfellow, Executive Coach and Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership, exploring how character is revealed not just in times of adversity but also in moments of success. Ben shares insights on the distinction between leadership character and personal character, and how leaders can intentionally demonstrate their values during times of achievement.

Episode Notes

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Key Highlights

• The Credibility Equation: Leadership effectiveness comes from both competence (skills and abilities) and character (values and behaviors)
• While competence is often presumed at senior levels, character must be deliberately demonstrated
• Success provides unique opportunities to showcase character through: - How victories are framed and celebrated - What gets measured and prioritized - The questions leaders choose to ask - How credit is shared
• Leadership character differs from personal character and includes elements like: - Degree of collaboration and inclusivity - Approach to accountability - Source and motivation of drive - Level of humility and openness to learning

Notable Quotes

• "Character is not just revealed in times of adversity - those times of success are also great opportunities for leaders and teams to really underscore and reveal character."
• "Watch the pronouns - there's a big difference between singular credit and group credit."
• "You can be a leader of high integrity as an individual, but that doesn't necessarily show up in terms of how you display that character as a leader."

Featured Speaker

• Ben Stringfellow is a Coach and Partner at CRA | Admired Leadership with 8 years at the firm and 20 years prior experience as a client and practitioner of the behavioral approach to leadership. Before joining CRA, he held senior operational roles at McDonald's Corporation.