Which is More Important—Competence or Character?

by Kerry Larkan on July 14, 2010

In building leadership bench strength in your organization, which do you believe is most important: Competence or Character?

Those of you who have heard me speak on the topic of keeping talent may recall my thoughts on the difference between being trustworthy and building trust: it’s all about credibility. People know when you are not congruent— when you are merely mouthing words without having your heart in them.

Credibility comes from saying and also doing what you promise. When I see an instance of outstanding leadership or a business that I consider to be an “employer of choice,” there is always a high-level of credibility as well. But where does credibility come from? How can you develop yours?

Credibility can be split into two major parts: competence and character. These two are like brother and sister, ying and yang, chicken and egg. To be successful, people and organizations need both. Too much competence at the expense of character…or vice versa…and you run into problems.

Competence involves having the requisite capabilities, skills, and resources to execute a business plan. Competence is bench strength—the ability to get things done both efficiently and effectively. Competence is also about results—being consistent and having a track record of consistent results.

Character, on the other hand, is a question of mindset or attitude. Character is what you are made of and has a couple of key constituents:

Intent is what you mean. For example, if you are forced to say something you don’t believe in or understand, chances are people will see through that. What is the intent of the meeting? The discussion? Your intent (your purpose) is an important part of both building and maintaining your credibility.

Integrity is about your ethics, honesty, and principles. Do you do the right thing? What do you say and do behind people’s backs? How would you or your organization behave when given the chance to gouge a high price?

Now, in building leadership bench strength in your organization which do you believe is most important—competence or character?

As I said at the beginning, both are important.

People are usually hired for their competence. But while competence may get them the job, character blemishes may eventually put them out of the business. Perhaps a person is dishonest or can’t get on with other people? Someone may be capable of doing a job technically, yet have no concept of what it means to work as a team.

These represent character issues, not questions of competence. Ultimately, for an employment brand to reflect a true “employer of choice” culture, character is critical, and the integrity and character of the senior team in particular need to be beyond reproach.