Session #2 of Leading From the Inside Out: Transforming Leadership 2020 Program
March 10, 2020
Leadership is a combination of three elements: competence, commitment to the leadership role, and character. Character has traditionally received the least attention of these three pillars – both in research, as well as in our daily conversations and workplace practices – even though it underpins effective decision-making in all three sectors: public, private and not-for-profit.
Almost all of us instinctively know that character is critical to good leadership and an integral part of how we assess those in leadership positions. Take a moment to think about prominent leaders (both “good” and “bad”) in government, business, sports or other areas - it is impossible to ignore their character! So why is it that character is not a more common and robust aspect of leadership development programs? Research conducted by the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at Ivey Business School has uncovered a few common beliefs/reasons:
- We often do not know what character is or what it means
- We believe it is subjective
- We often believe it is something we are born with, or at least set in place during childhood
- We do not have language with which to address character – good and bad – within the workplace
All of the above beliefs or reasons, however, are completely contrary to the revelations of current research: character can be defined, assessed, measured, and taught and developed at any age. In fact, the more we exercise our character, the more integrated it becomes into our habit of being.
Kimberley Milani will present the multi-year research conducted by the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at the Ivey Business School with leaders from all sectors. She will outline the various dimensions of leader character and provide you with exercises you can perform to cultivate your own.
Session Objectives:
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Explain the 3 Cs of leadership: competence, commitment, character.
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Define the meaning of leadership character, including what it is and why it is important.
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Show how character can be defined, assessed and developed in individuals.
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Demonstrate how and why character matters to both individual and organizational leadership, as much, if not more, than competence and commitment.
About the Presenter:
Kimberley Milani
Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership
Ivey Business School
Kimberley is passionate about elevating people’s strength of character to enhance their leadership skills. She has spent the last 18 years in managerial and director positions in academic centres and institutes at Western University. For ten years, she was the Director of The Circle Women’s Centre, a community facing feminist centre at Brescia University College (an affiliate of Western, and Canada’s only women’s university) that operated using a unique and cultivated process of collective leadership. She was also a founding member of the Institute for Women in Leadership (IWIL) at Brescia and was its Director for seven years. In 2017, she joined the Ivey Business School’s Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, an Institute at the forefront of knowledge creation in the leader character area. She is the co-founder of the Institute’s Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program (LAMP).
Kimberley volunteers as a board director for The Circle Women’s Collective and ReForest London. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto.
Generously Supported by the City of London
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