Leadership & Character | Gainesville, FL

A group of Wake Foresters gathered over dinner in Gainesville, FL on January 10, 2019 to discuss Leadership & Character.

Overview and highlights of our Call to Conversation:

• We were pleased by the lively and entertaining discussion that offered reminiscences of time on the Wake Campus and, at the same time, dealt with broader issues of leadership and values.
• There was appreciation for national leaders who embodied the values they spoke about in their actions as well.
• Leaders show character by “hopeful optimism” and “moral strength””; they “do the right thing even when it involves risk”; they are “kind,” always thinking of the “best interest of others.” Though leaders are sometimes constrained by the positions they are in, the intersection of leadership and character means that they should try to show an idealistic self, committed in a deep way to something bigger than themselves, hoping that creativity can spring from the kind of both/and logic espoused by President Hatch.
• We expressed the hope that character can be taught, so that we can pass down the values of concern for others and respect for all, even when doing the right thing requires that a price be paid.