Episode 13 - Does Research support that Character matters?
Summary: In this episode Mary and I welcome Dr. Lucas Monzani, Asst. Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Ivey Business School. Lucas’s research includes a focus on Key People Indicators (KPIs), and quantifying the impact that Leader Character has on these KPIs. Lucas shares the accumulating evidence which is establishing a broad-based, strong, and positive correlation between presence of Leader Character and KPIs (e.g. psychological safety, promotability), which has the potential to radically transform organizations. In our conversation we note that Leader Character is a fundamental, root-cause approach to improving these KPIs from within people (“trickle up” effect). Lucas also discusses his current and future research which is using novel techniques and methods to measure the link between Leader Character and physiological responses, and the early results are very promising. Lucas discusses some extremely valuable insights arising from his research that demonstrates consistent cross-cultural effects and the phenomenon of “character contagion”. Lucas discusses using virtual reality techniques to deliver consistent, cost-effective and humane training methods to develop leader character (including reducing unconscious bias and improving performance management). Finally, Lucas reminds us that Leader Character is at its essence a “Human Project”, and that the human is at the front and center of our research. It is not pursued for the primary purpose of improving profitability or EPS, but to support and extend Human Flourishing to support judgment and well-being and get at the complex challenges facing us in the 21st century.
SOURCES / CITATIONS:
Ellis, C., Monzani, L., & Bruschetto, S. (2024). Character development and Mindfulness: A sustainable competitive advantage for leaders and employees. Amplify, 37(1), 8–16. https://www.cutter.com/article/character-development-mindfulness-sustainable-competitive-advantage-leaders-employees
Monzani, L., Escartín, J., Ceja, L., & Bakker, A. B. (2021). Blending mindfulness practices and character strengths increases employee well‐being: A second‐order meta‐analysis and a follow‐up field experiment. Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 1025–1062. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12360
Monzani, L., Seijts, G. H., & Crossan, M. (2021). Character matters: The network structure of leader character and its relation to follower positive outcomes. PLOS ONE, 16(9), e0255940. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255940