How true. In order to build a winning baseball, sales and church team or any other type of group that you are involved with, as a leader, you need "character people" around you.

I would define character as "an ingrained pattern of qualities, traits and moral attributes that define how a person will act in times of stress, crisis or temptation."

 

For example, a character man has the trait of honesty. That means he will not lie, even if he must pay a price to tell the truth. He will not steal, even if his need is great. He will not cut ethical corners, even if he is severely tempted and no one would ever know the difference.

 

A character man says, "I accept responsibility," instead of, "It wasn't my fault." A character man programs himself to do the right thing, not the easy thing. A character man can be relied upon as moral, ethical, principled and godly, whether in public or private, whether thousands witness his behavior or whether he is alone and unobserved.

 

To have integrity is to be a whole and integrated person—no masks, duplicity or chinks in the armor. The word "integrity" comes from the Latin integritas, meaning "soundness," which comes from "integer," meaning "whole, complete."

 

If you have integrity as a man of God, it means you are the same man at home, at work and at church. You don't pretend to be a man of honor and truth at church on Sunday mornings and then cut corners and cut throats out in the business world the rest of the week.

 

Integrity is essential to trust. If people know that you are a man of integrity, they'll depend on you and look to you as a leader.

 

To be a character man of humility means maintaining a sober view of yourself and others. Genuine humility is a strength, not a weakness. A man of humility is confident without being arrogant. He respects himself without tearing others down. He doesn't let other people determine his sense of self-worth. His ego can't be inflated by flattery, nor deflated by insults. Mother Teresa once put it this way: "If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are."

 

As you build and manage your teams, continue to surround yourself with character people. It will help you to achieve success easier, quicker and in a more fulfilling fashion.

 

By Pat Williams who is senior vice president of the NBA's Orlando Magic. He is the author of 40 books and a devoted father to 19 children. E-mail him at pwilliams@orlandomagic.com, or visit patwilliamsmotivate.com.