The vast majority of leadership training available to managers focuses primarily on skill and behaviors: how to delegate, how to communicate, how to manage conflict. These skills are unquestionably important and necessary. However, we maintain there is another important ingredient that has been severely neglected in leadership training, that ingredient is “character.” Leadership character and its qualities is focus of our new book and workshop: “Qualities of Leadership.”

In 340 B.C. Aristotle began describing a series of principles that have been embraced in both western and eastern cultures. A thorough understanding of these ideas enables a leader to think and act with greater clarity and effectiveness causing people to voluntarily follow leader’s direction and example. We believe that sound character has greatest impact on leadership success. Leaders simply attract people, ideas, circumstances, opportunities, and resources that are in harmony with their core thoughts and being.

A leader can never achieve greatness and success on outside unless he or she has developed fundamental qualities on inside. Behavior decisions and choices are all a reflection of our inner world. Unfortunately managers can unintentionally get caught in competitive “win at any cost” mentality or greedy “more for me” line of thinking. This can derail careers of most intelligent people. We read all about it every day in Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Forbes, manager who abused their trust of community, customers, regulators or employees.

Most of these online colleges are accredited. This will be important if you want to get a scholarship or if you will want to apply for any type of financial aid and an online college must be accredited if you are going to transfer your credits. Be sure to check. Also, some degrees such as education and nursing require licensing. Make sure that your state accepts degree obtained from an online college.

Some distance education programs require that you visit campus a few times each semester. Some online colleges have orientation at beginning of each semester which allows for students to meet with instructors. It is always good to attend these orientations. Some allow program to be completed entirely at home. Some online colleges offer shorter semesters and give a choice of six, eight and ten week semesters.