Character Protects Your Talent

Many people with talent make it into the limelight, but the ones who have neglected to develop strong character rarely stay there long. Absence of strong character eventually topples talent. Why? Because people cannot climb beyond the limitations of their character. Talented people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts. Character prevents that. Talented people may feel superior and expect special privileges. Character helps them to know better. Talented people are praised for what others see them build. Character builds what’s inside them. Talented people have the potential to be difference makers. Character makes a difference in them. Talented people are often a gift to the world. Character protects that gift.
When it comes to talent, everything is not always as it seems to the casual observer. Sometimes what appears to be a huge success isn’t. And in time, the truth comes out. That was the case for Dr. Hwang Woo Suk.

Strong on the Surface

In 2004, Time published its annual list of “People Who Mattered” in a special issue of the magazine. Among those cited was Hwang Woo Suk. The brief article accompanying his picture stated,

A veterinarian by training, Hwang began to research cloning for a practical purpose: he wanted to create a better cow. But his work didn’t stop in the barnyard. Hwang and his team at Seoul National University became the first to clone human embryos capable of yielding viable stem cells that might one day cure countless diseases. While such research raises troubling ethical questions, Hwang has already proved that human cloning is no longer science fiction, but a fact of life.

The recognition by Time was just the latest in many honors and much adulation Hwang had received. His was an incredible success story. He grew up in a poor mountain town in South Korea. The son of a widow, he had worked his way through school, earning money by laboring on a farm. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he was advised to become a medical doctor. But he had another vision. He wanted to create a genetically superior cow for his nation. He earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine, and then after a couple of years practicing as a veterinarian, he entered the field of scientific research.
His talent was incredible—his drive remarkable. Both carried him all the way to a professorship at Seoul National University. It was there that he first gained attention in the scientific community. In 1999 he announced that he had succeeded in cloning a dairy cow. He became a national celebrity in South Korea. But he made a much greater impression in early 2004 when he announced that he had succeeded in creating human embryonic stem cells through cloning. Up to that time most experts around the world believed that cloning any kind of primate would be impossible because of the complexity of the genetic structure. Hwang followed his announcement to the media with an article in a prestigious scientific journal.
In 2005, Hwang announced additional breakthroughs and published them as well. He also announced that he had successfully cloned a dog—an Afghan hound that he named Snuppy. Hwang became an international celebrity among scientists and a national hero in Korea where he was a favorite of the nation’s president. He was regarded as one of the top experts on stem cells in the world. He already held the prestigious POSCO (Pohang Iron and Steel Company) Chair as a professor at Seoul National University. To that were added an appointment to lead the World Stem Cell Hub, the title “Supreme Scientist” by Korea’s Ministry of Science and Technology, and the creation of a postage stamp honor, depicting a man in a wheelchair getting up and walking as a result of his research. And he was receiving the equivalent of millions of dollars in financial support for his work. His talent and hard work had paid off, and he was at the pinnacle of his career and one of the most respected scientists in the world.

Questions

At year a shadow was cast over Hwang’s work. An American scientist with whom he had published his stem cell research suddenly announced that he would no longer collaborate with Hwang. The other scientist said his reason was a concern about the way eggs had been collected from donors during Hwang’s work. Soon afterward, another colleague of Hwang, Roh Sung-il, admitted that he had collected eggs from their junior researchers and had paid some donors, both ethical violations. Of great concern was the possibility that donors had been coerced. Hwang claimed that he hadn’t been aware of Roh’s actions until after the fact and that he later hadn’t identified the researchers as egg donors to protect their privacy.
Despite these ethical concerns, support for Hwang remained high. In South Korea, people who criticized him were often deemed unpatriotic. There were large public rallies to support the scientist. And Korea’s president, Roh Moohyun, had always supported Hwang. He stated, “It is not possible nor desirable to prohibit research, just because there are concerns that it may lead to a direction that is deemed unethical,” and “Politicians have a responsibility to manage bioethical controversies, not to get in the way of this outstanding research and progress.” What mattered most to the people was that there had been a scientific breakthrough.
However, while most of his countrymen cheered, a group of young Korean scientists grew skeptical of his claims. And a Korean investigative television show, similar to 60 Minutes in the United States, criticized Hwang’s research methods and questioned his work. In response, Hwang offered to resign from all of his official posts, but also defended himself. “I was blinded by work and my drive for achievement,” he stated. Even as late as December 2005, Hwang insisted that he had merely acted to protect the identity of the egg donors. A month later, the truth came out.

The Real Story

Things began to unravel when a journal that had published one of Hwang’s articles issued a retraction and Seoul National University created a panel to investigate Hwang’s work. On January 10, 2006, the panel announced an amazing conclusion: Hwang had fabricated all of his stem cell research. Then other reports surfaced, saying Hwang had forced one female researcher to donate her own eggs after she accidentally knocked over Petri dishes containing eggs from other donors. Questions followed about how he had spent $2.6 million of the nearly $40 million in funding he had received. On May 12, 2006, Hwang was indicted on embezzlement and bioethics law violations.
Had Hwang told the truth about anything? Was there any evidence that the scientist really did have talent? Or were all of his claims lies? No, as it turns out, he did tell the truth about one breakthrough— Snuppy the Afghan hound. Hwang and his team truly had been the first in the world to clone a dog. But the rest simply wasn’t true.
What happened to Hwang Woo Suk? Had his talent let him down? No, he had enough talent. What failed him was his character. Because it was weak, it neglected to protect his talent. And now his talent—no matter how great—is irrelevant. His career is over.

The Components of Character

People are like icebergs. There’s much more to them than meets the eye. When you look at an iceberg, only about 15 percent is visible—that’s talent. The rest—their character—is below the surface, hidden. It’s what they think and never share with others. It’s what they do when no one is watching them. It’s how they react to terrible traffic and other everyday aggravations. It’s how they handle failure—and success. The greater their talent is, the greater their need is for strong character “below the surface” to sustain them. If they are too “top heavy” with talent, then they are likely to get into trouble, as Dr. Hwang did.
Tim Elmore, who worked for me many years and is the founder and president of Growing Leaders, is the first person I heard compare character to an iceberg. When he speaks to college students, he often tells some little-known details about the infamous sinking of the Titanic.

The huge and unsinkable ship received five iceberg warnings that fateful night of April 14, 1912, just before it went down. When the sixth message came in during the wee hours of the next morning, “Look out for icebergs,” the operator wired back, “Shut up! I’m busy.” Those were his last words over the wire before it all happened. Exactly thirty minutes later, the great vessel—the one whose captain said even God couldn’t sink this ship—was sinking . . . They underestimated the power of the iceberg and overestimated their own strength. What an accurate description of so many people today.

No one can expect to succeed without strong character below the surface to protect his talent and sustain him during difficult times. Character holds us steady, no matter how rough the storm becomes. Or to put it another way, as David McLendon did when we spent time together recently, “Character is the pedestal that determines how much weight a person can sustain. If your character is the size of- a tooth pick, you can only sustain a postage stamp. If your character is as thick as a column, you can sustain a roof.”
So what exactly comprises character? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get a dozen answers. I believe it boils down to four elements: (1) self-discipline, (2) core, values, (3) a sense of identity, and (4) integrity. Let’s consider each of them:

1. Self-Discipline
At the most basic level, self-discipline is the ability to do what is right even when you don’t feel like doing it. Outstanding leaders and achievers throughout history understood this. Greek philosopher Plato asserted, “The first and best victory is to conquer self.”
The greatest victories are internal ones. Oswald Sanders, the author of the book on leadership that launched my personal journey as a leader, Spiritual Leadership, wrote that the future is with the disciplined. He said that without self-discipline, a leader’s other gifts—however great—will never realize their maximum potential. That’s true not only of leaders but also of anyone who wants to reach his or her potential. Talent alone is never enough. A person must have talent plus character. The battle for self-discipline is won within. The notable mountain climber Sir Edmund Hillary observed, “It’s not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves.”
One of the joys of my life is playing golf. I only wish my talent matched my passion! I have had the privilege of playing the East Lake course in Atlanta, home course of golf legend Bobby Jones, considered by some to be the greatest golfer who ever played the game. The club house is filled with pictures of him playing and with many of his championship trophies. Yet many people don’t know that Jones’s most significant victory was over himself.
Jones began playing golf at age five and won his first tournament at age six. By age twelve he was winning tournaments against adults. But Jones had a temper. His nickname was “Club Thrower.” An older gentleman called Grandpa Bart, who had retired from golf but worked in the pro shop, recognized Jones s talent and his character issues. After Jones made it to the third round of the U.S. Amateur Championship, the older man advised, “Bobby, you are good enough to win. That tournament, but you’ll never win until you can control that temper of yours. You miss a shot— you get upset—and then you lose.” Jones did master his temper and won his first U.S. Open when he was twenty-one. Grandpa Bart used to say, “Bobby was fourteen when he mastered the game of golf but he was twenty-one when he mastered himself.”
English theologian and orator Henry Parry Liddon observed, “What we do on some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are; and what we are will be the result of previous years of self-discipline.” The first step to strong character is conquering self.

2. Core Values
Our core values are the principles we live by every day. They define what we believe and how we live. Ideally we should write out our core values so that they become a clear beacon we can always use to guide us.
One person I most admire is John Wooden, the Hall of Fame former coach of UCLA’s basketball team. When he graduated from grade school at twelve years old, his father gave him a seven-point creed. From that time, Wooden has carried a written copy of that creed with him every day. Here is what it says:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

I had read about the creed, and when I got to meet Coach Wooden, I asked him about it. Sitting in a restaurant at breakfast, he pulled a copy out of his pocket and showed it to me. Of course, since he has it memorized, he doesn’t need to carry a copy with him, but it has been his lifelong practice. Most important, he has always carried it in his heart and sought to live it out every day.
Swiss philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel stated, “The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings.” Core values give order and structure to an individual’s inner life, and when that inner life is in order, a person can navigate almost anything the world throws at him.

3. A Sense of Identity
When it comes to character, each of us must answer the critical question, “Who am I?” That answer often provides the motivation to practice self-discipline. It is fundamental for the identification of core values. And it helps to establish emotional security. Our sense of security—or lack of it—often drives what we do.
American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne recognized this truth: “No man can for any considerable time wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which is the true one.” How do you identify yourself? Where does your personal value come from? What is your motivation as it relates to money and power?
If you live with a chip on your shoulder, believe deep down you have no intrinsic value, or see yourself as a victim, you will have a distorted view of yourself and your surroundings. That, in turn, will impact your character. No matter how hard you try, you cannot consistently behave in a way that is inconsistent with how you see yourself. Thus, a strong and accurate sense of identity is essential. To paraphrase author Ruth Barton, people are set up to fail if they envision what they want to do before they figure out what kind of person they should be.

4. Integrity
The final component in strong character is integrity, which is an alignment of values, thoughts, feelings, and actions. People who possess the consistency that comes with strong integrity can be very compelling. In his book American Scandal, Pat Williams tells the story of Mahatma Gandhi’s trip to England to speak before Parliament. The British government had opposed Indian independence, and Gandhi, one of its most vocal proponents, had often been threatened, arrested, and jailed as a result. Gandhi spoke eloquently and passionately for nearly two hours, after which the packed hall gave him a standing ovation.
Afterward, a reporter asked Gandhi’s assistant, Mahadev Desai, how the Indian statesman had been able to deliver such a speech without any notes.
“You don’t understand Gandhi,” Desai responded. “You see, what he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. What he says is what he does. What Gandhi feels, what he thinks, what he says, and what he does are all the same. He does not need notes.”
When values, thoughts, feelings, and actions are in alignment, a person becomes focused and his character is strengthened. Visually it could he represented by this:

Value > Thought > Feeling > Action







However, when these components aren’t aliened, it creates confusion and internal conflict, which looks more like this:


Value > Feeling >
Thought >
Action






Developing talent without developing character is a dead end. It won’t take people where they want to go. The lives of people who are long on talent but short on character always get out of balance.
A joint study conducted by Korn/Ferry International and the UCLA Graduate School of Management asked 1,300 senior executives to identify the top trait needed to enhance a business executive’s effectiveness. Coming in first was integrity. In second place was concern for results, with responsibility third. What’s true for the boardroom is also true in the classroom, living room, soup kitchen, or gym. If you want your talent to take you far, you need to protect that talent with integrity.

Character Communicates

The choice to develop strong character may not be the most important one to make the most of your talent. But it is certainly the most important to make sure you don’t make the least of your talent. You can’t really underestimate its impact. Entrepreneur Roger Babson, who founded Babson College and Webber International University, asserted, “A character standard is far more important than even a gold standard. The success of all economic systems is still dependent upon both righteous leaders and righteous people. In the last analysis, our national future depends upon our national character—that is, whether it is spiritually or materially minded.”
As I hope I’ve already made clear, character creates a foundation upon which the structure of your talent and your life can build. If there are cracks in that foundation, you cannot build much. That’s why you must first develop within before you can achieve much without. But once you build strong character, it does more than provide a platform for your personal success and the maximization of your talent. It also impacts others and allows you to build with them. It does that through what it communicates to people:

1. Character Communicates Consistency
Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead stated, “What people say, what people do, and what people say they do are entirely different things.” That is true of people who live without character, without integrity. Such people communicate confusion to others. They can say anything they like, but their actions determine the message we receive. It was philosopher-poet Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “What you do thunders so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”
Amazingly there are people who actually promote this inconsistency. Designer Ralph Lauren was quoted as saying, “The crux of a person’s identity . . resides in the trappings, not in the person himself… One needn’t be well read, so long as one surrounds himself with books. One needn’t play the piano, so long as one has a piano. In short, one can be whoever one wants to be. Or— more accurately—one can seem to be whoever one wants to be. While one may be able to make an impression with “trappings “ real person always comes through in the end. Impressions are like shadows—they disappear when a strong enough light is shone on them. Character is the genuine article—and the more you shine light on it, the more of its details you can see. Character shows that who you are and who you appear to be are one and the same, and that, according to Greek philosopher Socrates, is the first key to greatness.

2. Character Communicates Choices
Earlier in this chapter, I mentioned that Bobby Jones needed to overcome a terrible temper to succeed at golf. Not only did Jones do that, but he actually became a model of sportsmanship and character. Both could be seen in his play. During the final play-off of a U.S. Open tournament, Jone’s ball ended up in the rough just off the fairway. As he set up to play his shot, he accidentally caused his ball to move. He immediately turned to the marshals and announced the foul. The marshals discussed the situation among themselves. They hadn’t seen the ball move. Neither did anyone in the gallery. They left it up to Jones whether to take the penalty stroke, which he did.
Later, when a marshal commended Jones on his high level of integrity, Jones replied, “Do you commend a bank robber for not robbing a bank? No, you don’t. This is how the game of golf should be played at all times.” Jones lost the match that day—by one stroke. But he didn’t lose his integrity. His character was so well-known that the United States Golf Association’s sportsmanship award came to be named the Bob Jones Award.
It’s an interesting paradox. Our character creates our choices, yet our choices create our character. Author and speaker Margaret Jensen observed, “Character is the sum total of all our everyday choices. Our character today is a result of our choices yesterday. Our character tomorrow will be a result of our choices today. To change your character, change your choices. Day by day, what you think, what you choose, and what you do is who you become.” Once you get a handle on the character of a person, you can understand his choices and even predict what they will be.

3. Character Communicates Influence
Today, many people try to demand respect. They believe that influence should be granted to them simply because they have position, wealth, or recognition. However, respect and influence must be earned over time, and they are built and sustained by character. First and foremost, influence is based on character. U.S. Army General J. Lawton Collins asserted, “No matter how brilliant a man may be, he will never engender confidence in his subordinates and associates if he lacks simple honesty and moral courage.”
I’ve taught leadership for three decades, and I’ve written many books on it. During that time, I’ve tried to help people develop skills that will benefit them as leaders. However, all the skills in the world won’t assist someone whose character is hopelessly flawed. Experienced leaders understand this. Author Stephen Covey writes,

If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be more motivated to like me and each other while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity or insincerity then, in the long run, I cannot be successful. My duplicity will breed distrust, and everything I do—even using so-called good human relations techniques will be perceived as manipulative.

It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric is or even how good the intentions are; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation for permanent success.
Character cannot be inherited. It cannot be bought. It is impossible to weigh, and it cannot be physically touched. It can be built, but only slowly. And without it, one cannot lead others.

4. Character Communicates Longevity
If you want to know how long it will take to get to the top, consult a calendar. If you want to know how long it can take to fall to the bottom, try a stopwatch. Character determines which will happen. Dreams become shattered, possibilities are lost, organizations crumble, and people are hurt when a person doesn’t have character protecting his talent. Character provides the opportunity for longevity in any career, any relationship, and any worthwhile goal.
Author and pastor J. R. Miller wrote, “The only thing that walks back from the tomb with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. This is true. What a man is, survives him. It can never be buried.” If you want your talent to last, and you want to sleep well at night, depend upon good character. Asked about the secret of a long and happy life, Coach John Wooden remarked on his ninetieth birthday, “There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.” Character protects your talent, and it also guards you from regret.

TALENT + CHARACTER = A TALENT-PLUS PERSON PUTTING THE TALENT-PLUS FORMULA INTO ACTION

Never forget that talent is a gift—either you have it or you don’t—but character is a choice. If you want it, you must develop it. Here’s how to become a talent-plus person in the area of character:

1. Don’t Give Up or Give In to Adversity
It takes character to weather life’s storms. At the same time, adversity develops character. Author and activist Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, remarked, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
Anyone who does what he must only when he is in the mood or when it is convenient isn’t going to develop his talent or become successful. The core foundation of character is doing what you don’t want to do to get what you want. It is paying a higher price than you wanted to for something worthwhile. It is standing up for your principles when you know someone is going to try to knock you down. Every time you face adversity and come through it with your core values affirmed and your integrity intact, your character becomes stronger.
In his first novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Russian dissident author Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote about Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, a political prisoner in a Siberian labor camp. In one part of the novel, Shukhov is forced to build a wall in weather that is twenty degrees below zero. As it gets dark and even colder, the foreman gives the order to hurry the job by throwing leftover mortar over the wall, instead of using it, so that they can be finished for the day. “But Shukhov wasn’t made that way,” wrote Solzhenitsyn, telling how the man resists the order, determined to finish the job right. “Eight years in a camp couldn’t change his nature. He worried about anything he could make use of, about every scrap of work he could do — nothing must be wasted without good reason.”
The foreman yells at him and then hurries away. “But Shukhov— and if the guards had put the dogs on him it would have made no difference—ran to the back and looked about,” writes the author. “Not bad. Then he ran and gave the wall a good look over, to the left, to the right. His eye as accurate as a carpenter’s level. Straight and even.” Only then does Shukhov stop working.
German philosopher-poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe observed, “Talent can be cultivated in tranquility; character only in the rushing stream of life.” The irony is that if you have never experienced the resistance of the rushing stream, then whatever talent you have cultivated in tranquility may not survive. If you want your talent to take you far, then don’t quit under duress. Don’t give up in the midst of a storm. Don’t bail out in the middle of conflict. Wait until the trouble is behind you before assessing whether it’s time to change course or stop. Do that, and you may have additional opportunities to develop your talent.

2. Do the Right Thing
Doing the right thing doesn’t come naturally to any of us. As America’s first president, George Washington, said, “Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder.” Yet that is what we must do to develop the kind of character that will sustain us.
It’s not easy to do the right thing when the wrong thing is expedient. Moliere commented, “Men are alike in their promises. It is only in their deeds that they differ. The difference in their deeds is simple: People of character do what is right regardless of the situation.” It’s not easy to do the right thing when it will cost you. It’s not easy to do the right thing when no one but you will know. But it’s in those moments that a person’s character becomes strong. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. asserted this:

Cowardice asks the question: Is it safe?
Consensus asks the question: Is it popular?
Character asks: Is it right?

That is the bottom line. Are you going to do what’s right?
One way that I’ve tried to control my natural bent to do wrong is to ask myself some questions (adapted from questions written by business ethicist Dr. Laura Nash):

1. Am I hiding something?
2. Am I hurting anyone?
3. How does it look from the other person’s point of view?
4. Have I discussed this face-to-face?
5. What would I tell my child to do?

If you do the right thing—and keep doing it—even if it doesn’t help you move ahead with your talent in the short term, it will protect you and serve you well in the long term. Character builds— and it builds you. Or as Dr. Dale Bronner, a board member of my nonprofit organization EQUIP, puts it, “Honesty is not something you do; honesty is who you are.”

3. Take Control of Your Life
I have observed that the people with the weakest character tend to place the blame on their circumstances. They often claim that poor upbringing, financial difficulties, the unkindness of others, or other circumstances have made them victims. It’s true that in life we must face many things outside our control. But know this: while your circumstances are beyond your control, your character is not. Your character is always your choice.
People can no sooner blame their character on their circumstances than they can blame their looks on a mirror. Developing character is your personal responsibility. It cannot be given to you; you must earn it. Commit yourself to its development because it will protect your talent. Every time you make a character-based decision, you take another step toward becoming a talent-plus person. The process begins with deciding to make good character your goal and to stop making excuses. French writer Francois La Rochefoucauld asserted, “Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we think to hide them.” The process continues with the determination to manage that decision every day.
You have God-given talent; develop it. You have opportunity before you; pursue it. You have a future that is bright; look forward to it. But] above all else, you have the potential to become a person of character; follow through with it. Character, more than anything else, will make you a talent-plus person. It will protect everything in your life that you hold dear.


Live Responsibly Today
By Dr Neil Anderson

Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself (Matthew 6:34).

Trusting God for tomorrow is a question of our worth. Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nei­ther do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Birds are not created in the image of God. We are! Birds will not inherit the kingdom of God, but we shall. Birds are mortal; mankind is immortal. If God takes care of the birds, so much more will He take care of us. That’s why the apostle Paul could write, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Matthew 6:30,31 states: “If God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the fur­nace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then.” God lays His own reputation on the line. If we trust and obey, He will provide. This is a question of God’s integrity. “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things... Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:32,34).
God’s will is that we live responsibly today and trust Him for tomorrow. Are we people of little faith, or do we really believe that the fruit of the Spirit will satisfy us more than earthly pos­sessions? Do we really believe that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we shall be satisfied? Do we really believe that if we seek to establish God’s kingdom, God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory? If we do, then we will seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to us (Matthew 6:33).