How To Gain A Competitive Edge through Leading With Character By Dolly Waddell with Daniel Astarita

Research shows that organisations with leaders of high character have five times the return on assets than those with low character.

This is why, in the latest episode of extra-Ordinary Leaders, I explored this topic in-depth with Daniel Astarita, Managing Director at Kesslers, and a man who knows the importance of leading and being led with good character. 

Several years ago, Daniel went through every leader’s nightmare: having to make over 180 employees redundant and losing the trust of customers, stakeholders and employees. But one trait helped Daniel rise from the ashes and regain everything he had lost: character.

In this article, we’ll explore how to gain a competitive advantage by leading with character and the organisational benefits this leadership trait can result in on a wider scale.

Leadership needs to be different

One of the most important nuggets that Daniel shared on the podcast was that leadership isn’t a set menu. 

Leadership needs to hold together a myriad of approaches in order to accurately reflect the customer base.

At the end of the day, it’s all about the customers. Every business has a diverse customer base, and to effectively reach each faction of this market, customers must be able to know and trust the business.

Daniel: “There’s an old adage that says that people like to do business with the people they like. As the world moves on and all the technology advances, that fundamental thing hasn't changed. People still want to talk to people, and they still want to talk to people that they like.”

In a nutshell, likeability builds trust, and to create that likeability, leaders must exhibit character traits that resonate with their customer base. 

Character = influence

Character is perhaps one of the most interesting elements in leadership because many leaders believe they have it. Over the years, I have found that people generally assess their own character as “good enough” without taking into account the seemingly irrelevant details that might be undermining it.

To a large extent, leading with character means being true to your word. For instance, if you say to someone, “Let's go for a drink on Thursday,” but refuse to take the initiative to ensure it happens, you might be lacking in character.

In the same vein, if you’re saying to customers, “This product is brilliant. I want you to really enjoy it,” leading with character means that you take all the necessary steps to ensure that they do enjoy the product. 

Having charisma without character is just like wearing a fake tan – it eventually wears off. This has been the reality, in many cases, of leadership failures. This article from MIT Sloan explains it brilliantly:

“In numerous high-profile cases — whether the global financial crisis, the Volkswagen emissions scandal, or the Boeing 737 Max tragedies — technical competence was largely evident, but character was not.”

How to drive business growth by leading with character

Beyond day-to-day work scenarios, character is an important leadership trait that should be reflected even in less ideal circumstances such as business failure. 

Daniel previously worked as a sales director at Kesslers – which was owned by a private equity firm at the time. When the business crashed, and he had to make 180 employees redundant, it was character (not charisma) that enabled him to rise from the ashes, buy back the business and regain the trust of stakeholders.

Daniel: “After the business went into administration and we had to make our employees redundant, it turned out that we had a group of really skilled people that still had a huge amount of value to offer the industry. So I went back to the administrators, spoke to them about buying it, and eventually raised the cash to do so. 

But the thing about a business going into administration is that it leads to a lot of scars, and you have to repair those scars. So, we decided really early on that we were going to do things with integrity. We were going to over-communicate with our staff because they had been let down once before, and we didn't want to put them in that situation again. 

We went back to our customers and stakeholders and asked for a chance to prove ourselves again. We were honest, and we examined all of the many mistakes we had made. Surprisingly, we were overwhelmed with the amount of support we got by doing that.”

Daniel's handling of this challenging period in his career reflects the critical role of character in leadership. Instead of relying solely on charisma to navigate through the crisis, he took responsibility for his actions by openly acknowledging his mistakes and committing to rectifying the damages caused. 

By prioritising honesty and follow-through over easy fixes, Daniel not only repaired relationships with his employees, customers and stakeholders but also laid a strong foundation for the future.

The question is: how can leaders bring that level of openness and vulnerability into the workplace?

The critical questions leaders need to ask themselves

Daniel: “I think leaders in business have a responsibility to really reflect on the type of businesses that they're operating, and whether they are being fair and reasonable to all stakeholders. Because when things go wrong, you don't often get the opportunity to do what we've done and fix it. There’s a legacy of personal issues that you could cause.

So I think as leaders, we have one single responsibility and it's to make sure that we're being responsible for the business and all stakeholders.”

To ensure we are fulfilling our responsibility as leaders and leading with character to gain a competitive edge, it’s critical to ask ourselves the following questions:

• Am I truly listening to diverse perspectives?

• Do my actions reflect my words?

• Am I approachable and likeable to my team and customers?

• How do I handle failure or mistakes?

• Am I transparent and honest in my communications?

• Do I lead with empathy and understanding?

• Am I making decisions that are fair and consider the impact on all stakeholders?

• How am I fostering a culture of integrity and accountability?

By regularly introspecting and seeking feedback in this area, we can ensure that we're leading with character. This not only enhances our personal effectiveness but also contributes significantly to the success and competitive edge of our organisations.

For more insights on how to lead with character, listen to my full conversation with Daniel on the extra-Ordinary Leaders podcast.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel or explore the free resources I have on my website for more insights on how to dial up the extra-ordinary in your leadership.