Ethics & Leadership in Business Development

Title:Ethics & Leadership in Business DevelopmentWord Count:531Summary:In the 25 + years of working with some of the bestpeople in Business Development within the powergeneration industry, we have found some uniquecharacteristics that separate these individualsfrom the rest. It doesn 抰 seem to matter whatorganization they work for, or the services, theclient base or the economic climate.

Keywords:ethics, leadership, business developmentleadership, business, sales, ethical sales,sales leadershipArticle Body:In the 25 + years of working with some of the bestpeople in Business Development within the powergeneration industry, we have found some uniquecharacteristics that separate these individualsfrom the rest. It doesn 抰 seem to matter whatorganization they work for, or the services, theclient base or the economic climate. We findthat these individuals are in fact the top 3% ofthe professionals in their field. In addition tolearning to think as CEO 抯 , Presidents,entrepreneurial leaders of Business Developmentunits, we 抳 e discovered they have acquired thebehavioral characteristics of a leader. They havelearned how to set strategic and operational

objectives in putting together plans, how to bevisionaries and see opportunities for theirorganizations that other individuals may miss,and in the role of Business Development, they havemastered the 12 Core Competencies, a benchmark tomeasure leaders.One of the most compelling definitions of a leaderis an individual whose mere presence inspires thedesire to follow. When asked if leaders are bornor bred, the general consensus is that leadershipcan be taught. While few of us have had theopportunity to be formally trained or mentored inleadership, all of us are called to be a leaderat different times and circumstances in our lives.Leadership is first about who you are as anindividual, not what you do, and the termcharacter best describes the core characteristicof a leader. It is this part of an individualthat inspires other to follow, so we see characteras the summation of an individual 抯 principlesand values, core beliefs by which one anchors and

measures their behavior in all roles in life.Principles and values of a positive leaderinclude loyalty, respect, integrity, courage,fairness, honesty, duty, honor and commitment.If character is the summation of our principlesand values, then ethics is the application of them.To understand more about character development,we can reach back nearly 2500 years to thewritings of Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics.Aristotle taught that moral virtue is acquired bypractice. Ethics, according to Aristotle, ismoral virtue that comes about as a result of habit.Ethics has as its root ethike, formed by theslight variation of the word ethos (habit).Aristotle explained that moral virtues do notarise in us by nature; we must accept them,embrace them and perfect them by habit.Leadership training emphasizes thatunderstanding leader values and attributes isonly the first step in development. A leadermust also embrace values and practice attributes,

living them until they become a habit.In the Business Development role, successrequires a fusion of who we are as an individual,along with our principles, values, ethics andtheir application. It 抯 a unique combinationof what we know, how we apply it and what we do.Bill Scheessele is CEO/Founder of MBDi, aBusiness Development consultancy based inCharlotte, North Carolina. For the past 27 years,MBDi has assisted client firms in leveragingtheir high level expertise into bottom linebusiness. Information on the company and the MBDiBusiness Development Process?access:www.mbdi.com.