I’ve worked in the field of character education for more than 15 years. The focus of our work has been to intentionally develop character and culture in a way that prevents the most persistent problems and mobilizes the deepest potential of individuals and organizations. At every phase of our work we’ve evolved by trying to stay close to the front lines. We’ve always learned from and with educators, coaches, business leaders and parents. However, in this most recent phase of our work we’ve never worked harder at understanding the needs of our customers and trying to build programs that really work for them. In the next several blogs I’ll try to distill and share some of these hard-earned lessons.
Lesson 1: Understand the customer and context. Okay. That’s really a Peter Drucker lesson. But, like many of Drucker’s profoundly simple ideas, it is so subtle that you have to return to it again and again to really get it. We worked primarily with schools. We were successful mostly with elementary schools, with little or no impact at middle and high school levels–and basically zero relevance for elite sports teams or competitive businessess Why? High school educators don’t want to do this stuff, right? Well, certainly some don’t, but most frankly are more concerned with their job–teaching and learning. We wanted them to care about developing character. Why? Because, we argued we need a more just, more compassionate, more honest society. But they needed kids to respect each other, not cheat, and to work hard.
So what did we do in our Power2 programming? We focused on customer and context. We asked ourselves what are the most persistent challenges, what are the most compelling goals, and what, given the answers to these questions, is the role of character and culture. What resulted was what one colleague, Chip Weiant referred to as ”radical contextualization.” Basically it means that we seek to identify the individual competencies and cultural assets needed for a given context. Then, we build specific programs for building those assets.
For example, in our work with high schools we understand that teachers want to teach their content. They often find out later that they have to teach students–who may or may not be interested in learning. So we help them to intentionally build the character and culture needed for teaching and learning.
In the business context no amount of learning, technology, or training can overcome the fact that the organizational mission is fulfilled by human beings, who need to work together, communicate, balance priorities, manage stress, meet deadlines and preserve integrity. They often don’t need advanced training in abstract ethical frameworks. They need to develop the character and competencies of excellence and ethics required for their business context.
In each context we help our customers shape shared norms for working together, develop the skills skills of collaboration, communication, and negotiation; we help develop a culture of continuous improvement built on effort and attitude; we help maximize the talent potential; we help build a culture of emotional intelligence and integrity; we help manage time, priorities, and stress; we help balance a life of achievement with a life of purpose.
In the new paradigm of character development we’re not forcing “life-lessons” into classrooms, we’re collaborating on lessons essential for life in the classroom, and by extension, essential for life. We’re not saying that people in business need to be experts in ethics; but, they should be prepared for the specific moral and performance character challenges they will encounter in their work. Regardless of your age you still need to intentionally develop the character and culture needed for success in your field of endeavor. Character development isn’t a bank account that can filled up in high school, or college, or in your initial HR training.
Don’t think because we focus on what’s most proximal to our customers that we’re giving up on the greater societal character enterprise. We’re just going after the larger vision by developing character and culture by focusing on the character needs of each customer. We’re not their yet, but what a difference when you understand the customer and context you’re trying to serve.
