‘Why Character Matters’ with Dr Edward Brooks

The Evolving Leader

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26d ago 55:07

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What if leadership isn’t just about performance, but about character?

In this episode of The Evolving Leader, we’re joined by Dr. Ed Brooks, Executive Director of the Oxford Character Project and co-editor of the new book The Arts of Leading. With hosts Jean Gomes and Emma Sinclair, Ed explores how cultivating human character, hope, courage, humility, and clarity, can provide the deep stability today’s leaders urgently need.

We discuss the difference between optimism and hope, why virtues like kindness and creativity are underrated in leadership, and how the arts and humanities reveal untold stories of leadership that challenge traditional views. From Plato’s cave to the quiet leadership of community organisers, Ed shares how rethinking what (and who) we value in leadership can reshape organisations and ourselves.

Referenced during this episode:

Leading With Character

Oxford Character Project

Good Leadership in UK Business Report

Other reading from Jean Gomes and Scott Allender:

Leading In A Non-Linear World (J Gomes, 2023)

The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence (S Allender, 2023)

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The Evolving Leader is researched, written and presented by Jean Gomes and Scott Allender with production by Phil Kerby. It is an Outside production.

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Chapters

1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Can you give us the origin story of the Oxford Character Project - what was the impetus behind it? (00:03:58)

3. Can we discuss the research that you’ve been conducting on the importance of hope in difficult times? (00:05:38)

4. Can you help us define character? (00:10:58)

5. At the moment, character appears not to be a priority for some of the world’s most prominent leaders. What do you think is going on? (00:14:27)

6. When we are asking leaders to become more human, how do we help them find what is defining their character? Is it easy to look internally to define yourself? (00:18:05)

7. How does the concept of character translate across the world? (00:20:34)

8. If you had to talk to leaders this year, why would you suggest that character should become a priority for them to focus on? (00:23:19)

9. You recently published the Good Leadership in UK Business Report, which exams which virtues are valued by UK business leaders. What conclusions did you draw from this study? (00:25:38)

10. The fact that you can ground this in Aristotle and Plato demonstrates that this is a perennial human need. Why do we keep having to re-enforce the need for this? (00:28:39)

11. How does virtuous character contribute to the bottom line? (00:31:05)

12. Why do you think kindness and creativity are rated so low by the general working population in the Good Leadership in UK Business Report? (00:35:36)

13. What would your character scorecard be for the 3 or 4 top business people in the world? (00:38:07)

14. Let’s turn to your forthcoming book which is fascinating and refreshingly different from the mass of leadership literature. Who is it aimed at, and why is the more nuanced picture of leadership you describe so important for us to recognise? (00:42:26)

15. In the chapter by Noah Lopez, he draws on Plato’s Republic with the message that leaders should learn to philosophise. Can you talk us through that? (00:49:41)

16. In your book you raise important questions, and as a result in today’s uncertain world you help leaders learn and engage with leadership differently. (00:51:50)

17. What is the next phase in your work? (00:53:16)

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