The Human Touch

Good days give us memories, bad days teach us lessons. How we respond or react to the bad days shines a light into who we actually are, as individuals.

I, for one, value character much more than any work-related skill. This "character" is often known in the workplace as "attitude". I disagree with this analogy, as anyone can fake attitude, but they simply can't fake character.

The attitude we display in the workplace is largely related to our gesticulation and verbalisation: how often we smile and present ourselves appropriately, and how courteous we are with our colleagues and partners.

Character, on the other hand, is internal and comes to light when exposed to external stimuli. For instance, "I apologise" or "I am sorry" is a foreign concept to many as it is either wrongly perceived as a sign of weakness or, even worse, it is viewed as "who cares?".

How one owns a mistake tells a lot about that person's character; how one takes one for the team says even more; how one callously couldn't care less, speaks volumes.

Skills, all the skills one needs to earn a living, require a prescribed form of learning - I am a great believer in the fact that anyone can be taught anything if they are open to learn. Being an outstanding coder doesn't make you a good person - just a great coder. Being a phenomenal surgeon doesn't make a doctor an empath - I've met a surgeon once who was terrible at any form of human interaction that didn't involve a "scalpel" and "suture". But he didn't need soft skills to do his job perfectly. Nor did he need character to save lives.

Sadly, having had the privilege of being one of Prof Hofstede's alumni (the greatest anthropologist of modern times) and learn a lot from his seminal work, the same stands true about what all of us know as being "organisational culture", the biggest fallacy of the corporate world. The culture of any organisation, big or small, starts with the leadership of that organisation - it is the person at the top who creates the "culture"; and many of us are aware of that very famous quote which says that "culture eats strategy for breakfast".

That is very true. It is true because irrespective of how good a business strategy is, and how valid its points are, if "this is not the way we do things around here", that strategy is worthless.

And this is where character comes back into discussion. We are never too old, too important, or too senior to say "I am sorry", and actually mean it. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of great leadership.

With character comes trust. Often, trust is assimilated to likeability. Again, another fallacy. You don't have to like someone to trust their work, or to trust they will do a good job, or to trust that they are capable of putting out a fire. If we like that person too (as we tend to like those who are "like us"), then it's even better. But when someone's work cannot be trusted and their character leaves a lot to be desired, that is the equivalent of asking for trouble.

If your line of work allows it, and you are not looking for a surgeon or a coder, hire the character. You can teach any skill. When your back is against the wall - particularly if you work in crisis-prone organisations - it is not the skills of your team that will see you through to the other side: it is their character. Skills can be bought from anywhere; character can't.