𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿

Walter Gretzky is credited with the famous quote: “𝐺𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛.”

What many people do not realize is how he taught his son Wayne to think about the game. Walter used Socratic questioning.

After games he would ask Wayne:

• 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔?

• 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦?

• 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑟?

Those questions developed Wayne’s thinking and awareness, not just his skating skill (competency).

The same principle applies to leadership.

Most organizations invest enormous time and money developing leadership competencies — Strategy, Communication, Decision Making, Execution, etc.

These are important.

In fact, since 2015, The Management Sherpa™, has helped organizations build these competencies with great success.

But competency alone does not make someone a great leader.

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀.

Most leaders will nod and say, “Of course.”

Yet leadership development programs rarely focus on character.

Research suggests leadership training investment typically looks like this:

~70–80% 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑟𝑠

~20–30% 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑠

Sources: Ivey Business School Leadership Character Framework, the Oxford Character Project, and the Training Magazine Leadership Development Survey

Why the imbalance?

• Character is harder to measure

• Skills produce faster visible results

• Character development requires cultural alignment

• Organizations fear appearing moralistic or religious

• Leadership education historically focused on management

• Character is formed through experience, not just courses

So organizations train what is easier to measure and faster to teach.

But leadership failures rarely come from a lack of skill. They come from a lack of character.

Competencies determine what a leader can do.

Character determines how they will use it.

Over time, I’ve come to think about character through two lenses:

• 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑦 — ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑒 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒

• 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 — 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔

Interestingly, in the past six months many of clients have begun asking me to help them develop leadership competencies and character based on biblical principles.

As an acrostic geek, I created a framework that reflects both perspectives.

Leadership competencies may help someone win a position, but character determines whether they deserve the influence that comes with it.

Great leaders do not simply develop skills. They develop the character to use those skills wisely.

Because in leadership, just like hockey, seeing where the puck is going requires more than talent. It requires character.