The Six Pillars of Character
From MLK's famous speech: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Yes. Amen. But what is that content of character? As Dr. King declares, the character part matters. It really is the WHO -- not an external or visual representation of us, but the internal part of our being. And it's not equal to the person you SAY you are but who you ACTUALLY are. Character is the person you are when no one is watching, when the cameras are turned off, when it's not posted on social media.
We spend much time talking about the importance of character at Community Development Professionals, LLC. We talk about BEING first and the DOING will follow. We encourage organizations to lay out core values and make those drivers and mandates for the mission and purpose that follow. Character impacts how we handle difficult meetings, challenging people and the day-to-day interactions with clients. Character impacts how we move forward and how we make a difference through our work. Today I remind us to keep character first. If we are to be judged by the content of our character, let's make sure we measure up.
-Mindy Muller, CFRE, President/CEO of CDP
