Anna Armao, Brady Kraemer, and JR Nixon

Character-Based Leadership Executive Summary

Career Destination Model
Career destination is a concept that is essential to achieving success as a well-rounded
individual. Many aspects of it, including having long-term aspirations and practicing goalsetting, are innate and are likely already practiced by most people without them being aware of
what they are doing. However, having a structured understanding of career destination and best
practices of implementing it intentionally in ones life will help move the individual toward
becoming a strategic partner. A strategic partner is someone who has personal credibility,
business knowledge, a focus on marketplace eminence, strong leadership ability, and several
other related qualities. Becoming a strategic partner in ones respective field should be a central
aspect of career destination.
Timeline
In putting the concept of career destination into practice, it is important to have a timeline
that helps to map out milestones that line the path
to achieving goals. For example, the graphic with
the arrow to the right is one we used in class when
exploring career destination. The starting point on
the timeline is now, and the endpoint is whenever
one becomes a strategic partner, even though the journey does not really end there. Career
destination can continue throughout life as there is always room for improvement and further
development. There are also points along the way which have question marks near them. As
such, these points may occur at different times for different people, depending on the timeline
they create.

For example, if someone wants to be the CEO of a company, they will have a different
timeline from someone who wants to found a nonprofit organization. Also, the arch of the arrow
in the example has meaning. Take the goal of becoming CEO for example. It will take years of
very arduous work and relationship-forming before one is even able to reach the upper leadership
positions. Having this background helps to create a great CEO and forms the foundation of
experience and respect for others to see why the person will make an excellent leader.
In addition, at different points in life, there will be unique goal; the timeline is curved and
irregular rather than simply a straight line. For example, for us in college, we are at a paramount
juncture in the career destination process. Many enter college without having a fully-formed idea
of what they want to focus on or the type of career they would like to have after graduation. This
is acceptable. It is also acceptable and even encouraged to explore many different avenues by
taking unique classes, forming relationships with and asking questions of various professionals,
securing internships in different industries, etc. These experiences help to develop knowledge
about oneself, ones likes and dislikes, and ones strengths and areas for improvement.
Importance of Goal-Setting
From a young age, people learn to set goals. Parents, teachers at all levels, coaches, and
many others instill the importance of actively setting expectations of where one should be and
when this milestone should be reached. This practice should not end once one is independent; it
should become more significant when making career choices. A Forbes article informs readers
about why setting firm career goals is critical to success. Among the reasons are that setting
specific goals is conducive to a higher level of achievement and knowing what you truly want
when looking for jobs will help you to find and earn positions that will propel you toward your
long-term goal rather than become a space where time is wasted (Sundheim). It is second-nature

for many to know that setting goals is essential, but especially with the many daily distractions in
modern society, this fact can be forgotten.
Knowing all of this, one should always have a goal in mind, even though it will likely
evolve. On our first day of Character-Based Leadership class, we stood up and introduced
ourselves by saying our name and our long-term career goal. This concept is so important that we
started our first day of class with it. A few of us had a moment of uncertainty and panic; we were
not sure about our majors let alone where we wanted to be in ten or twenty years. However,
being encouraged to articulate our goals helped us and reinforced for us how imperative it is that
each decision we make be intentional. Whether we are deciding where to co-op, who to connect
with, which classes to take, or which book to read, we need to think about how these choices
align with our desired career and life destination.
Having a Long-Time Perspective
Time is the most valuable commodity in existence. Businesses and professionals cannot
cause there to be any more or less time in a day; they can only manage themselves around the
time they are given. To most efficiently and effectively do this, individuals must have a longterm perspective of decision making and analyze their future goals to prioritize how they should
be spending their time during any given day..
According to research conducted by Dr. Edward Banfield of Harvard University, having
long-term perspective is the difference maker in how and why some people become financially
independent over their lifetime and others do not. Those who took the future into consideration
with every step they took in the present were more likely to achieve greatness during his or her
career (Maximize). Having the self-discipline to focus only on things that are setting you up for
long-term success not only sets individuals up for financial success, but also produces a very

positive self-image in these individuals. Once you have a long-term career destination in mind,
making the intentional decisions to work towards that destination gives people a great sense of
pride and personal satisfaction (Maximize).
What this looks like in practice is determining what you are most passionate about in life,
and knowing what you want above all else. You establish what your long-term priorities are, and
from there it is imperative that you are able to evaluate which short-term priorities are going to
get you there. Time is valuable, so working on high-priority tasks is how you maximize this
time. This long-term perspective must be a focus of your career destination model.
Developing Strategic Partner Qualities
The world is full of artists, scientists, engineers, writers, teachers, electricians, and
countless other professions. Society cannot function without all of these roles being fulfilled.
Therefore, it naturally follows that people have different goals and aspirations for their future
careers. However, everyone should have one common theme in their career destination: they
strive to become strategic partners in their respective fields.
In defining a strategic partner, most envision a business professional in an expensive suit,
effectively running a company. However, I would argue that those people who make the biggest
difference in the world are those who practice compassion with respect to other people. Mother
Teresa, Saint Francis of Assisi, and several of the leaders we discussed in class- these figures all
have a common trait; they are servant leaders. Through serving others, they have shaped the
world into a better place. Every strategic partner has an identifiable set of skills that have enabled
them to achieve their high level of success.
First, and most importantly, strategic partners have personal credibility. Without it,
everything else is for naught. People will only follow a leader they trust. Trust is built over many

years, but it can be lost in an instant. Consider Richard Nixon. During his first term, he served
as an effective president. However, after the Watergate scandal in 1972, he lost every scrap of
personal credibility he had ever built and resigned the office of the President. If followers feel
their leader doesnt have their best interests at heart, they will reject him. Personal credibility
rests on others perception of the leader. The perception becomes reality in the eyes of the person
forming the image.
Second, an effective leader is an compelling communicator. Leadership skills are
inseparable from communication skills. In order to organize people to accomplish goals, a leader
must clearly define their objectives and inspire dedication to those objectives. Think of Winston
Churchills moving We shall fight on the beaches speech. Churchill galvanized a nation on the
verge of collapse, a nation which had witnessed nation after nation devoured by the Nazi war
machine. Churchills clear message of his confidence in the ability of the British Empire to resist
the advance of Hitlers ambitions, in spite of the unprecedented destruction during the Blitz,
united the British to win out to total victory.
Third, a leader must be able to manage himself around time. An inescapable fact of the
human condition is that time is limited. One day, everyone runs out of time. Therefore, it is left
to each person to glean the most value from the limited time granted him or her.
Fourth, leaders possess a strong knowledge of their field. For example, one cannot hope
to rise within an accounting firm without knowledge of how to fill out a tax form. The nuts and
bolts understanding of the industry basics is a prerequisite for success as a leader in that field.
Someone who understands how to tackle the weeds can step back and deal with the wider
forest. Generals in any military achieve their high rank only after numerous years serving in a
lower rank to attain the experience and skills necessary for their generalship.

Fifth, a person must be well-known in their marketplace. The personal network of a

leader must be at the very minimum 300 people. However, 1,000 or more is preferred. The
reasons to maintain a large network are simple: with access to a wider range of people,
increasingly difficult problems can be solved through creative solutions
. Finally, a leader makes the conscious decision to lead. Leading is difficult, with it comes
the onerous responsibilities. However, everyone chooses to become a leader when they become a
parent, spouse, coach, teacher, or numerous other roles. Choosing to become a leader is a
monumental decision, but in the long run, it is a highly enjoyable and fulfilling occupation.
Becoming a strategic partner is at the core of human nature. Look at the achievements of
mankind over the millennia: building the Great Pyramids of Giza, completing the Eiffel Tower,
curing diseases, and landing a man on the moon. From these accomplishments, its obvious
humans have reached for the stairs and have strived to continuously improve. So it does this hold
true for individuals; everyone feel an innate desire to become the best version of himself. To this
end, dedicating oneself to becoming a strategic partner and setting this goal as a core piece of
career destination is crucial to the happiness and well-being of a person. Humans do not aim to
be mediocre; humans aim to be remarkable.

Works Cited
Sundheim, Ken. "The Importance of Setting Firm Career Goals." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 12
May 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
"Maximize Your Priorities." Time Management Training. Time Management Training Institute,
2016. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.