Virtuous leadership
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“There can be only one true Progress: the sum total of the spiritual progress made by individuals; the degree of self-perfection in the course of their lives” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
In our lifetime, we will all be called to have our 15 minutes of fame. In other words, we will all have our moment to show who we really are when we are put to the test. This can happen through school and college, it can happen in our careers or volunteering opportunities, but most of us will be in a position of leadership at one or more moments in our lives. We are all fully capable of succeeding in a leadership role no matter what temperament we possess nor how introverted/extroverted we are. A lot of schools/colleges/workplaces today will carry out trainings and courses that allow you and them to discover your temperament and character. This is why interviews exist, a one-on-one method for your personality to shine through.
We may all not be 100% comfortable in these roles. Some of us may think we’re not bossy enough, not confident in what we’re doing, not sure about how people will react etc. That’s the beauty of this blog post, something I have learned and learned to live with about myself… discovering my temperament and character type and flourishing. We’ve all probably heard of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, which although seems thorough, fails to distinguish between temperament and character and rather measures a mixture of both. In a previous blog post on beloved, the DISC method was discussed which is another form of temperament and character analysis. These are all very helpful in discovering my own work ethic and methodology. However, we need a deeper discovery of temperament and character in order to discover our own missions and no longer be a slave to our natural inclinations but have achieved self-mastery in true human freedom.
Temperament
Temperament is our native predisposition to react in certain ways. Temperament comes in four forms to which we can possess more than one of; choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic. We are born with this temperament and cannot change it, but on these foundations, we build character. The four temperaments are characterised as follows:
Cholerics are intense: they are action-oriented. They are very savvy, analytical, logical, extremely practical and straightforward. They dislike small talks and enjoy deep and meaningful conversations. They would rather be alone than in the company of shallow, superficial people. Ideally, they want to spend time with people who have similar professional interests.
Melancholics are deep: they are idea-oriented. They love their families and friends and, unlike sanguine people, they do not look for novelty and adventure. Even more so, they avoid it as much as they can. They are very social and seek to contribute to the community. Being extremely thorough and accurate, they are fantastic managers with good personalities.
Sanguines are spontaneous: they are people-oriented. They tend to be lively, optimistic, buoyant, and carefree. They love adventure and have high risk tolerance. They are typically poor at tolerating boredom and will seek variety and entertainment. They are very creative and can become great artists. They are fantastic entertainers.
Phlegmatics are restrained: they are peace-oriented. They seek interpersonal harmony and close relationships, which makes phlegmatic people very loyal. They make it a point to preserve their relationships with old friends, distant family members, and neighbors. tend to avoid conflict and always try to mediate between others to restore peace and harmony. They are very much into charity and helping others.
Character
Character is made up of virtues, which are moral habits that we get through practice. The virtues which character is made up of are prudence, courage, self-mastery, justice, magnanimity and humility. We’re not born with character, that is something that we build. Through character we compensate for the weakness of our temperament. We are often tempted to do what comes naturally but character helps us to resist this temptation and do the right thing. Prudence, courage, self-mastery and justice are the foundation of leadership when it comes to character, whereas magnanimity and humility make up the essence of leadership.
Prudence is about making the right decisions. It enables us to perceive situations in all of their complexity and make decisions in accordance with this perception. Prudent decision making consists of two things: deliberation and decision.
Deliberation: embrace reality; don’t lie to yourself; seek advice.
Decision: don’t expect certainty where it cannot exist; overcome your fear of mistakes; enact decisions with dispatch.
Courage is about running risks and not giving up. It has two dimensions: boldness (audacity) and endurance (fortitude).
Boldness: learn to run risks; check that your goals are just.
Endurance: persist in the face of obstacles; make sure that your perseverance is not pig-headedness but principled steadfastedness.
Self-mastery is about directing passions. It is mastery of the heart. It is the capacity to say yes to what makes us grow and no to what debases us. It’s made up of:
Subduing bad passions: controlling impure desires and feelings; managing anger.
Energizing noble passions: embracing good desires and feelings like love, enthusiasm and forgiveness.
Justice is about giving each one their due. We give others their due when we practice the virtues of interpersonal communion (truthfulness and love) and promote the common good through the faithful fulfillment of our professional, social and family responsibilities.
Communion: pursue truthfulness, sincerity and simplicity; cultivate empathy, friendship and cheerfulness; promote love and mercy.
Common good: employ industriousness; embrace domesticity; promote citizenship.
Magnanimity is about striving towards great things. It’s is big-heartedness and greatness of soul. It is the virtue of philosophers and doers, of contemplative souls, and is directed towards contemplation and action.
Contemplation: be mindful of your personal dignity; discover your strengths and talents; explore dreams and visions.
Action: affirm your personal dignity; embrace your strengths and talents; pursue your mission.
Humility is about knowing oneself and serving others. It is the habit of living in the truth of yourself/self-knowledge and serving others. We serve people effectively when we help them grow as human beings.
Self-knowledge: be mindful of your createdness and your flaws; acknowledge your dignity and be aware of your talents.
Service: serve others and help others grow.
Virtuous leadership
In putting all of this together and not rambling on for too long, no matter what mixture of temperaments we possess, the character that we build upon through virtues shape the type of leader we are. Character is built on the foundations of our temperaments so each character type will look different on different people. The worst way to become a leader is to adopt other people’s methods of leadership. This is not real, sincere and in essence is just not us. We won’t be happy for too long. However, if we work on self-knowledge and the virtues in building our character in these roles, we will be most effective and ultimately happy carrying them out. Equally, we will be happy to give those roles up knowing that we have implemented our full self into the role and provided a service of what was needed. This is fulfillment. So go online and take the temperament test, see what you fall under and grow from there.
References
From Temperament to Character on Becoming a Virtuous Leader by Alexandre Havard.