According to a survey done for the Harvard  Kennedy School For Public Leadership, six factors or qualities determine whether or not Americans have confidence in their leaders.  These qualities are:

• Trust
• Competence
• Working for the greater good
• Shared values
• Results
• Being in touch with people’s needs and concerns.

A close examination of these six qualities reveals that these are character traits to be practiced and not a set of skills to be learned.

Trust is more than honesty, but it is where honesty begins. You trust someone when you believe they are who and what they claim to be. When twentysomethings talk about authenticity they are really describing trust.  You develop trust not by through developing image but through practicing integrity.

Competence is about excellence and doing things well. Long-term excellence is achieved when you perform to the best of your ability not just because it is profitable, but as an act of obedience to God and because it is part of your value system.

Working for the greater good sounds very similar to the second greatest commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself.

Shared values provide evidence of the New Testament truth of how every part of the human body works together for the good of the total body.  The human body is an illustration of how the people the New Testament describes must work together in unity, employing their diverse giftings and talents for the common good.

Results are more than good intentions. On one occasion Jesus spoke of people who said all the right things but never did anything. He warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  Failed intentions are usually not the result of unanswered prayers, but incomplete actions.

Being in touch with people’s needs and concerns reflects the judgment day teaching of Jesus in the 24th and 25th chapters of the Gospel according the Matthew that those who truly serve Him are those who do not neglect “the least of these.”

Instead of asking corporate, government, and religious leaders to attend leadership seminars, perhaps we ought to require them to enroll in character training.  And the very best preparation for character development is found at you local church on Sunday morning during the Bible study hour.

Gary Fenton
www.Characterpath.com