In this episode Mary and Bill discuss the interplay between context, character and decision-making. We know human behavior is profoundly influenced by the situations people perceive themselves to be in. Conversely, people tend to under-estimate their influence on their own context. Mary and Bill discuss how character can not only resist adverse context, but when exercised, can also positively change one’s environment. This leads to minimizing poor judgments, and in overcoming adverse context creates positive spaces that allow good judgments and well-being to flourish. Bill and Mary provide a number of examples from both critically acclaimed movies and real-life that explain and evidence the powerful effect that character brings to our lives, and the positive, contagious effects on the organizations, communities and societies in which we live.  

Money priming:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26214169/ 

Andrew Fastow interview at Ivey: https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/news/blogs/2018/4/welcome-to-my-world-says-former-enron-cfo-andrew-fastow/

Friendly Fire: The Accidental Shootdown of U.S. Black Hawks over Northern Iraq, https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691095189/friendly-fire 

“42” (2013), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(film)  

Elevating leader character alongside competence in selection: A case study of Canada Revenue Agency, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0090261620300036?via%3Dihub 

Ivey 3C’s of Leadership: https://www.leadforward.ca/blog/2016/10/31/developing-leadership-character-pt-1 

Leadership Character Framework: https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/leadership/research-resources/leader-character-framework/ 

Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/leadership/ 

Question of Character website: https://www.questionofcharacter.com/ 

Virtuosity App: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e3l6l46u8bsxkn9/Video%20-%20Introduction%20to%20Virtuosity%20Character%20App%20-%202020-07.mp4?dl=0