Three Keys to Character Training
There are three things that you must do to successfully implement a character training program in your life, family, or organization.
1. Emphasize Good Character
The goal is to establish a culture within your family or organization that encourages developing and demonstrating good character and making decisions based on good character.
Focus on one character quality at a time. For example, you could focus on the character quality of "Attentiveness" for a month. Define it. Explain it. Illustrate how it applies in your workplace or in your family. Demonstrate it.
Be watchful to "catch" yourself and your employees and family members demonstrating the quality of attentiveness.
Train management in how to implement a character emphasis. Focusing on character requires a new paradigm.
Managers will not automatically understand what you are trying to accomplish or how you plan to implement your character emphasis.
Set a date when you will conduct training for your management and supervisory staff.
Obtain good character emphasis materials. You will need a mechanism for focusing attention on character development.
Experience has shown that it is best to focus on one character quality per month.
Provide character bulletins, articles, etc., as ongoing resources for employees.
Place posters, banners, etc., around the workplace to serve as reminders of the character quality during the month.
Communicate what you are trying to accomplish to your employees.
Emphasize the importance of character in your organization.
Hold regular, scheduled, employee meetings to introduce and discuss the character quality that you will be focusing on during the coming month.
2. Require Good Character
The goal is to enforce character-based policies in establishing a culture within an organization that is built on character.
Establish a character-based policy manual that communicates your organization's standards to employees.
Require character in new employees through the hiring process.
One manager said that he always tries to hire employees based on character, rather than just on skills and experience, because an employee with poor character will always be a poor employee whereas an employee who lacks skills can be trained.
While that may be true and a wise policy, if character is viewed only as morality, it is not true that people cannot be helped to develop positive character qualities.
Another important part of requiring good character is to base correction on character.
When correction is necessary, correct employees based on the character deficiency that resulted in poor behavior, not just the behavior itself.
3. Recognize and Praise Good Character
The goal is to help employees reach their full potential by recognizing and reinforcing demonstrations of good character with praise.
Praise is pointing out words, actions, and attitudes that demonstrate character qualities and explaining how they benefited you and the organization.
One good strategy is to praise employees in the course of daily work.
You could recognize employees for their demonstrated character qualities on their employment anniversaries at employee meetings.
An Excellent Resource
The book Making Character First
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