Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America

National Conference on Ethics
in America (Part 2 of 5)

On Monday, October 22, 2007, the National Conference on Ethics in America moved into full action mode with opening remarks by Lieutenant General Franklin L. Hagenbeck, Superintendent of the United States Military Academy, who spoke about justice, rule of law, ethics, honesty, integrity, and honor as precepts essential to being an American.

Citizens of Character

After the inspiring words of Lt. General Hagenbeck, Len Marella, a graduate of West Point and the founder and president of the Center for Leadership and Ethics, discussed the importance of developing citizens of character as the defining issue of our time. "Citizens of character seek to discover truth and decide what is right."

Mr. Marella used the words of President Theodore Roosevelt to make his point,

"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."

Character must be continually developed and is inseparable from competence in order for one to be a successful leader. "When competent individuals in any level of human development or organization behave without character, the results are always negative."

Mr. Marella also explained that the foundation to character and competence is trust. "Trust is the foundation of character and essential to leadership, marriage, friendship, employer and employees as well as to all relationships."

In concluding his introductory remarks, Mr. Marella spoke about the importance of moral courage. He encouraged participants to renewed dedication to moral courage, commitment, ethics, character and leadership and shared with them a practical approach to consider for personal development:

• WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS
  – THEY BECOME YOUR WORDS
• WATCH YOUR WORDS
  – THEY BECOME YOUR ACTIONS
• WATCH YOUR ACTIONS
  – THEY BECOME YOUR HABITS
• WATCH YOUR HABITS
  – THEY BECOME YOUR CHARACTER
• WATCH YOUR CHARACTER
  – IT BECOMES YOUR DESTINY

Athletes of Character

Next on the agenda, Eric Alexander, an extreme athlete, shared his experiences of scaling the 29,035 summit of Mr. Everest with the audience. Prior to the climb, Alexander struggled with pneumonia and the death of his best friend. He also survived a 150 foot fall, developed pulmonary edema and needed to be airlifted to safety while training. He persevered because he wanted to help a blind friend, Erik Weihenmayer, reach the top. Mr. Alexander defied all odds against him and successfully climbed Mt. Everest with his friend Erik.

During his presentation, Alexander showed a video clip of his friend Erik trusting totally in voice directives as he walked across a ladder spanning a deep cavern, holding onto ropes and taking steps to precisely set his ice boots on the ladder rungs. The clip dramatically highlighted the virtues of courage and trust. Eric Alexander then explained that character is the foundation of the recipe success and discussed other qualities he felt were necessary ingredients:

• Courage to Serve Despite Fear
• Faith and Trust
• Teamwork
• Leadership and Integrity
• Perseverance

After the introductory remarks and plenary presentation, participants broke into small groups with their mentors. My group, comprised of students from the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, University of San Francisco, Marion Military Institute, Bradley University, Wake Forest, Claremont McKenna College, Valley Forge Christian College, University of Florida and the University of Wyoming, had a spirited discussion on the character of Eric Alexander. The selfless actions of Mr. Alexander were seen in contrast to the scandalous behavior of many professional athletes.

The group expressed their hope that the media would present stories of athletes of character, not just cover who wins and the sensational stories of negative behavior.

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Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America – Part 1 of 5	Click here to visit site
Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America – Part 2 of 5	Click here to visit site
Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America – Part 3 of 5	Click here to visit site
Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America – Part 4 of 5	Click here to visit site
Preparing Young Leaders: The Future of America – Part 5 of 5	Click here to visit site
National Conference on Ethics in America	Click here to visit site