Leadership & Character | Clemson, SC

 

A group of Wake Foresters gathered over dinner in Clemson, SC on January 18, 2019 to discuss Leadership & Character.

Overview and highlights of our Call to Conversation:

• A common theme of our answers involved caring: either people fulfilling the role of caregiver (many people mentioned close family members, doctors, nonprofit/church leaders) or simply the act of caring.
• “Character is about helping out the person who doesn’t have what you have.” This theme was repeated among those who spoke about people with character serving the needy, offering medical help, treating all people with dignity and respect – all while rarely complaining or asking for any recognition in return.
• “People don’t have character or not. People have traits of strong character (or not). Character is more of an adjective to me.” The adjectives the grouped used in describing acts of character included: generous, selfless, motivational, optimistic, respectful, hard-working, supportive, caring, consistent, loving.
• A few people posited that most students know right from wrong: character is the self-control, the act of making the right choice. It was discussed that this self-control version of character could be taught at home and in the classroom (but is one place better than the other?). While the idea of whether or not character could be taught wasn’t decided for sure, the general consensus was that character could be redeemed.