Countless business authors and analysts have assured us that great leadership demands great character.

 

In his book, “Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win,” Fred Kiel shows “there’s a measurable relationship between CEO character and business success” – i.e., the “return on character.” Kiel’s research shows that certain character traits such as compassion, accountability, reliability, loyalty, and integrity are predictors for success in the workplace. Kiel’s landmark study of more than 100 CEOs and over 8,000 of their employees’ observations revealed that leaders of strong character achieved a return up to five times greater than leaders of weak character.

Keil’s studies also showed that the best leaders were the least self-focused. He describes them as virtuosos who use both their head and their heart to orchestrate a high-performance team. Keil argues that character traits are the secret tools that drive an organization’s success along with the value it creates in the marketplace.

Reference: (copy and paste and read the full text)  https://www.business2community.com/leadership/proof-that-good-character-spurs-financial-success-01261708

Does the character of our leaders matter? You may think this question was answered long ago. Countless business authors and analysts have assured us that great leadership demands great character. Time and again, we've seen that truth play out, as once-thriving organizations falter and fail under the guidance of leaders behaving badly. Why, then, do so many executives remain skeptical about the true value of leadership character? A winning strategy and a sound business model are what really matter, they argue; character is just the icing on the cake. What's been missing from this debate is hard evidence: data that shows not only that leadership character matters for organizational success, but how it matters; and concrete evidence that it leads to better business results. Now, in this groundbreaking book, respected leadership researcher, adviser, and author Fred Kiel offers that evidence-solid data that demonstrates the connection between character, leadership excellence, and organizational results. After seven years of rigorous research based on a landmark study of more than 100 CEOs and over 8,000 of their employees' observations, Kiel's findings show that leaders of strong character achieved up to five times the ROA for their organizations as did leaders of weak character.

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https://store.hbr.org/product/return-on-character-the-real-reason-leaders-and-their-companies-win/16899#:~:text=%22Return%20on%20Character%22%20goes%20on,of%20strong%20character%20and%20%22unlearn%22