Leadership & Character | Winston-Salem, NC

A group of Wake Foresters gathered over dinner in Winston-Salem, NC on November 30, 2018 to discuss Leadership & Character.

Overview and highlights of our Call to Conversation:

• Our examples of character included parents, children, students, colleagues, athletes, supervisors, and friends – everyday people. The stories we chose to share spanned many years and for some of us, had shaped our lives.
• Character is consistently doing a series of small things (that lead up to big results) as opposed to one grand gesture.
• We spoke of character as doing the right thing. We acknowledged that doing the right thing sometimes comes with personal risk.
• Character can be demonstrated through acts of selfless service, by extending grace to another, and by taking a stand for the truth.
• We also acknowledged that the very best of us are not perfect. Even those who may personify character can still have inner struggles and issues we may not see.
• We were all struck by the willingness of everyone to be open and share with one another. The phrase, “six degrees of commonality” was used. We agreed that when we slow down and take the time to really be with people – to listen and discover someone’s “personhood” – that we will always find a common nuance of something we do have in common.