It is a well-known view that when things get tough, people reveal themselves.
Failure can be a profound teacher, forcing people to confront their mistakes and take responsibility for them. Or not.
Some people rise to the occasion when failure raises its ugly head, refusing to give up and instead displaying resilience and determination.
Conversely, other people give in to defeat and become sour, negative, and pessimistic. Character comes into sharp relief when failure knocks on the door.
Whether people learn from the struggle, hold themselves accountable, and respond calmly and maturely are among the character qualities that people disclose about themselves as they contend with loss.
Less obvious is what success declares about people. Success reveals character in ways that failure doesn’t.
Success presents a different character test. When things are going exceedingly well, and the wins rack up, people get the chance to step up or down the character ladder.
With great success, those with high character act with humility, generosity, and gratitude. They share their success with others and avoid the unnecessary attention that distracts those who work with them. They project confidence and not arrogance, believing they have much more to prove rather than declaring they have arrived.
As much as we learn about people during failure, we learn even more as they wrestle with success. A change of circumstance can expose a character flaw.
Failure and success magnify what lies beneath the surface. Failure tells us who will let themselves and others down or fight through the struggle, and where we will find weakness and strength. This is essential information for learning who we can depend on in the future.
But success shows us a person’s heart. With success, people confess what they really think of other people and of themselves.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
