FSI Consultants – March 2019
It is an easy thing to recognize when you see it, but can be difficult to define. A person of character is someone who holds themselves accountalbe for high standards and acts in accordance with those high standards even when no one is watching. To have character in the workplace is to live up to the CORE VALUES that are defined by your organization and to intentionally use those CORE VALUES to guide your thoughts, behaviors, and decisions.
We all make small compromises with ourselves when it comes to decisions that may be in conflict with our high set of standards. Everyone experiences momentary lapses. CHARACTER EROSION occurs when we take a step down from high standards and let that lower rung become our new normal. From there, it is easier to continue to take a step down even further, lowering our once high standards one rung at a time.
This can also happen in bigger chunks. When we react out of anger and frustration, we tend to make decisions that do not align with our previously held high standards. We can quickly fall into destructive thinking patterns like, “If they don’t care, then neither do I.” We let other people’s lower standards become our own.
What really makes someone a person of character and credibility is found in the process of self-reflection, ownership, and self-recovery. When we find ourselves, as all people do, in a compromised state of standards, it is important to realize that our bar is still up hanging high above us. After that moment of realization, it is time to either reevaluate where our bar should be set or reach to pull ourselves back up.