Strengthening Leader Character Without Self-Righteousness And Moral Superiority

Forbes

08-05-2025

The passing of Pope Francis, the ensuing Conclave, and the selection of Pope Leo XIV have brought leader character to the forefront, prompting questions about how leader character differs from religious leadership, and importantly, what it means to strengthen character without succumbing to self-righteousness and moral superiority.
There are two considerations. The first is that the same set of character dimensions matters whether in business or religious leadership. At the Ivey Business School, we describe effective leadership as character, competence, and commitment. While there are differences between business and religious leadership in terms of where a person chooses to commit their leadership or the competencies associated with that commitment, the same dimensions and strength of character apply. As revealed by the extensive research of Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson in their 2004 book 'Character Strengths and Virtues,' the character required to lead is universal, across contexts, sectors, cultures, and even religions. Furthermore, developing leader character is not simply about morals and ethics, but it underpins judgment, decision-making, well-being, and sustained excellence.
Although the same dimensions of character underpin business and religious leadership, these dimensions of character do not presuppose a specific set of values, beliefs, policies, or perspectives. Therefore, the second consideration is that developing strength of character is counter to being self-righteous or morally superior. As Lorelei Rollings, Director General of Culture and Innovation at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, stated in her podcast on character development, "When you deeply care about an issue, it's character that stops you from becoming self-righteous and dogmatic." For example, a person with strong justice, accountability, courage, drive, and integrity will need strength in dimensions such as temperance, humility, and humanity to exercise the necessary judgment, avoiding self-righteousness and dogmatism. Because strength in a character dimension can operate in an excess vice state when not supported by other dimensions, there is a danger of unbalanced character manifesting in the dangerous space of being self-righteous. However, as Rollings points out, the way to counter that danger is through intelligent and intentional character development. In the pursuit of elevating character alongside competence in higher education and organizations, it is essential to understand the interconnected dimensions of character.
In a Forbes article, "Addressing the Crisis of Leadership Character," I describe how sound judgment and decision-making are grounded in virtue ethics and character development. The basic tenet of virtue ethics is that who we are matters, not simply what we do, how we do it, or why. As Forbes Contributor Jonathan Westover writes, "Unlike the 'ends justifies the means' mentality of utilitarianism or the duty-based approach of deontology, virtue ethics is about who we are." Although we may have different values and perspectives, the first test of judgment is to address whether there are any shortcomings in the character dimensions. This understanding of character's role in judgment and decision-making is enlightening and informs our approach to leadership.
Every leader has the opportunity to assess their strength of character relative to the 11 dimensions and to understand whether what could be a virtue manifests as a deficient (underdeveloped) or an excess (unsupported) vice, which could compromise judgment and well-being. With Pope Francis, much has been written about his strengths in humility and humanity, both of which are often lacking in most leaders. As Forbes contributor Jeetendr Sehdev wrote in describing Pope Francis, 'What struck me from the beginning was how instinctively he understood the visual language of humility. He refused the papal palace and chose to live in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. He waved off the ornate shoes and kept the black ones he'd brought from Argentina. He didn't just humanize the Church. He localized it. Suddenly the Catholic brand wasn't emanating from the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City—it was radiating from the margins.' A key insight is that although the development of humility and humanity are essential, each person will have a different development path.
Strength of character requires incredible judgment, or what Aristotle described as 'practical wisdom.' The test of character is whether we have strengths across all 11 character dimensions. Because character can be assessed and developed, understanding the character strength of leaders is foundational.
The many accounts of Pope Francis' life, including his own 2025 autobiography, reveal that who he became and how his character developed were fundamentally shaped by his life events and dedication to cultivating virtues. By all accounts, Pope Francis became a man with strong humility and humanity through his repeated actions that cultivated their embodiment. Yet, cultivating virtue is not simply a spiritual practice reserved for religious leaders, nor should it be the happenstance of having a good upbringing or mentors. I often ask the following questions regarding character development: Who are you becoming while you are busy doing? Who do you want to become?
Virtues and character development can be understood through different lenses, including theology, philosophy, psychology, education, business, and exercise science. When my colleagues and I began researching character development after the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, we were fortunate to build on the research of Peterson and Seligman. Their research helped bridge the gap between theology, philosophy, and psychology by identifying character behaviors that satisfy 10 criteria, establishing those behaviors as virtuous. The next bridge was porting their work into organizations and finally drawing on exercise science to better understand character as habit development.
Whereas philosophical traditions associated with character and its development make distinctions between intellectual and moral virtues, for example, character application in organizations tends not to make those distinctions. While the terms ethical and moral need not modify the use of the term character, the understanding and application of character require the virtue ethics foundations that inform it. As Craig Titus writes in his 2017 Journal of Positive Psychology article, 'In a complex view of virtues, like that of Aquinas (1265-1273/1981), virtue does not simply refer to good acts: virtuous acts of care and concern, justice, patience, and perseverance (act-based dimensions of virtue). Virtue also modifies one's cognitive and affective capacities and habits, giving virtuous tendencies to act again.' Titus describes psychologist Seligman's morally neutral approach to virtue as a weakness.
Although virtue ethics and character development can be pursued without the morality label, doing so requires guarding against mechanistic or instrumental applications that lose touch with the essence of character development in virtue ethics. At the same time, traditional methods of character development, which have relied on exemplars, guidance on what constitutes a 'good' person, and practices to reflect on one's actions, are proving insufficient. It is the integration of various interdisciplinary lenses of character development, where art and science can merge. In Cracking the Code: Leader Character Development for Competitive Advantage, Corey Crossan, Bill Furlong, and I describe how to do it.
Elevating character alongside competence in higher education and organizations requires a paradigm shift to recognize that wherever competence resides, character belongs. It also requires a paradigm shift from treating character development as something to be taught or caught from exemplars to acknowledging that, because it is a complex habit, it can benefit from the extensive research and practical application arising from exercise science.
Reflecting on Gaps and Possibilities
The 11 interconnected character dimensions and their associated behaviors, along with an explanation of how they can manifest in deficiency and excess, regardless of good intentions, have provided a much-needed roadmap for character development. In addition, drawing on exercise science to embrace what it takes to develop character as sustainable habit change is a paradigm shift. Because it is easy to underestimate what it takes to understand, develop, and embed character in organizations, Corey Crossan and I offer 10 pulse-check questions that comprise the Character Quotient, a method for individuals and organizations to assess their current stage on the character development journey.
The passing of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo offer an opportunity to reflect on character, how to develop it, and, more importantly, what we can do as individuals and organizations to leverage that insight and elevate character alongside competence.