The Character Based Leader – An Interview with Mike Henry, Sr.
Leadership is a topic that simply never gets old. It seems there’s always more to learn, and that which we learn we need to be reminded of.
I had the opportunity to read a terrific new book on this topic, coauthored by 21 authorities in the field of Leadership; all part of The Lead Change Group.
This is a nonprofit global community with a mission: to instigate — what they call — a leadership revolution that encourages, energizes and equips people to apply character-based leadership to lead change. They believe that while competence is extremely important, the KEY ingredient is character.
The founder of this organization is Mike Henry, Sr. In this discussion, he provides us with some excellent insight as to why this change is needed. We’ll also learn why – as a society – we generally don’t seem to trust our leaders. We’ll find out why true leadership is based much more on “who you are” rather than on your position, some of those key elements that shape character, and more.
Enjoy our chat!
I’m really looking forward to having Mike back on with us soon so that we can discuss the chapter he wrote entitled, “Respect: Bring Your Team to Life.” It was a magnificent chapter.
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As always you deliver thought provoking information and a great interview, thanks Bob!!
Joyce, thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
Hello Bob, I really enjoyed this information about leadership. Great point made about character. Great points made in the interview. Thanks, Marilyn Hight
Marily, yes, he’s good, isn’t he?
Glad you enjoyed it!
Bob, thanks for a fun interview. You do a great job at making this sound easy.
Mike…
Thank YOU, Mike. And, my pleasure. You were terrific!
Awesome as Usual…. Great Informations and interview… Kudos to you both…
Carly, thank you! Much appreciated!
WOW – Bob I really appreciate the GREAT work you are doing – sharing all your AWESOME CONNECTIONS with us. I love this “Leading ourselves is the first core problem” – “Get busy” and creating “Trust”. Thank’s a lot again
Thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I appreciate it.
Mike…
Lene: Thank you. My pleasure. Always a pleasure to share awesome, valuable information from people like Mike!
Bob,
Great interview. This information is valuable and I plan to promote this to my network, in addition to leveraging this resource to empower college students and alumni.
Mike, I love this quote “The opposite of leader is victim”.
I look forward to reading “The Character Based Leader” and learning more about The Lead Change Group. See you on LinkedIn.
Keep up the great work.
Remain Encouraged!
Robert: What terrific feedback! Thank you. So glad you enjoyed Mike’s teaching and that you’re going to share it with those in your network and others whose lives and work you are influencing. And, I agree with you: that was such a great quote! Much appreciated!
What a great interview Bob and Mike! Thank you Bob for all you are doing to help us instigate a leadership revolution. It was especially great to listen to two men who live true to their message in everything they do – true Character-Based Leaders in action. I respect and admire you both.
Susan: WOW – what a kind and wonderful comment. Thank you! And, I know that, as one of the Lead Change Group team, you are part of that revolution!
[...] « The Character Based Leader – An Interview with Mike Henry, Sr. [...]
Robert and Susan, thank you for your encouraging comments. We’re all part of this revolution when we begin to stop blaming others for our problems and take the lead to make the change. Thanks again! Mike…
Bob and Mike,
After listening to this interview I realized that titles have the ability to put a safety net on people. What I mean is that some people are afraid to push themselves outside of their comfort zones and take on roles of leadership. For those that are uncomfortable with this, having a title or position that does not imply that one needs to lead is a crutch and something they can use to shelter their fears.
The character based leader takes action despite these fears and leads by example. They show those who are hesitant that it is ok to step up and lead . I firmly believe that when leaders within a company empower others to take on the mentality of being a leader (even if it is just an intern) the culture strengthens and the results skyrocket.
At the end of the day it is up to each individual to take on a mentality of leadership. However I believe this would happen a lot more if our current leaders communicated this message and were there as a guide throughout the process.
Blake
Thanks for the thoughtful comment Blake. Sometimes I wonder what percentage of current “leaders” really support the idea that everyone is a leader. I expect it has more to do with their perspective than anything malicious. But many existing leaders that I speak with have a tendency to consider leadership much more of a position than a person. I even wrote a post once, titled Change Leaders or Change Leaders? where I asked if we could transform existing leaders or should we simply trade them in on a new set.
Once again, thanks for the thoughtful comments. We do need more people to step up. Glad to know another member of the revolution! Mike…
[...] our first chat, Mike shared insight into why this change is needed, some of the key elements that shape character, and [...]
[...] Instigator Mike Henry Sr. was interviewed this past week by the one-and-only Bob Burg! Mike talks about the origins of the group and what triggered the [...]