A thought by Henry Cloud, from his book, Integrity (p. 34). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
And results are what we want, aren’t they?
Henry says, “What I have tried to do here is to take those aspects of character and put them into functions that tend to be different from each other, therefore discrete, and at the same time, related to each other, therefore integrated. If we have that combination, then we can focus on specific aspects of our makeup and, at the same time, be focusing on all of our makeup and getting it working together. That is what brings results and effectiveness, i.e., when we can focus enough on specific issues to grow and as a result, get it all working together. Let’s now look at what those aspects of character are:
1. The ability to connect authentically (which leads to trust)
2. The ability to be oriented toward the truth (which leads to finding and operating in reality)
3. The ability to work in a way that gets results and finishes well (which leads to reaching goals, profits, or the mission)
4. The ability to embrace, engage, and deal with the negative (which leads to ending problems, resolving them, or transforming them)
5. The ability to be oriented toward growth (which leads to increase)
6. The ability to be transcendent (which leads to enlargement of the bigger picture and oneself)”
He continues, “What if, for example, someone is good at the fourth trait, the ability to face negative realities and solve them. She would be a good problem solver. But, let’s say that she was lacking in the fifth quality and had little orientation toward creating growth. She would end up being a ‘maintainer,’ fixing things that were broken or were problems, but not making any of the existing good things bigger, or expanding into new areas either. Over time, and not much time, she would flatline, and we know what happens to any business or organization or person that has flatlined and stopped growing: they are usually going backward and the indicators have just not caught up yet. They are often dying if they are not growing. A flat line is usually the beginning of a downward line.”
He then says, “You have known people who love, for example, without the benefit of judgment and reality testing. Or people who are creative, but without the benefit of being structured or organized. Or those who can be proactive and take risks, but can’t delay when they need to. They are impulsive. Strengths turn into weaknesses without the other parts of a person to balance them out. In fact, historically the word diabolical actually means ‘to compartmentalize.’ Things go ‘bad’ when they are out of balance and integration. The person of ‘integrity’ is a person of balanced integration of all that character affords”.
He later says, “If you take any of the six character traits, we can conceive of what it would be, or at least think about what it would be, to be perfect in that ability. A ‘flawless’ connector, or problem solver. But, the reality is that none of us is there. We are somewhere on a continuum from little ability to connect and the ideal. So, underdevelopment leaves a gap between where we are at any given moment and where we need to be. That gap is our need and opportunity for growth.
So, where we are underdeveloped is where we need to grow for positive results, isn’t it?
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