Tony Dungy said, "You will never lose emphasizing character over results. Be successful not just in what you do, but in who you are." Your character is what you do. It is the decisions you make. It is the actions you take. Good character isn't just a trait, it's a choice that leads to a life worth living. It is doing the right thing and living your life with integrity, honesty, responsibility, courage, and self-discipline. In great cultures: character trumps talent every time Tony Dungy on How To Build Character: 1. It's How You Do Things Be a person of integrity. Be honest and upfront with people. Treat people the right way and choose to do things the right way. Tony Dungy always treated people with honesty and integrity because that is how he wanted to be treated. Takeaway: When you have integrity in how you do things, people know that you care about them and that they can trust you. 2. Don't Let Anyone Else Define You Stay with what you believe in. When Tony Dungy was with the TB Bucs, the team was 1-8 but he knew they were headed in the right direction. People told him what he should do and ought to do, but you can't change and give up on things just because other people think you should. Takeaway: You define the vision and what you want. Move forward with what you believe in. 3. Be A Problem Solver Tony Dungy always talked about how there will always be challenges and problems, but there is no reason to sit there sorry yourself and make things worse. Don't blame yourself and don't blame others, think about how you can make things better. Ask the question "How can I make the situation better?" Takeaway: By asking this question, you are focusing on what you can control and how you can take action. 4. Be True to Yourself Tony Dungy waited over 3 years to get his first head coaching position. In his first interview, the Owner asked him if the team would be his number 1 priority. He said they would be very important and would be his family, but his own family would always be his first priority. He didn't get the job. When he interviewed for the Bucs job, he gave the same answer and the Bucs owner responded, "My family is the most important thing to me." Instead of lying and telling the previous owner what he wanted to hear to get the job, he stayed true to himself and found a position that fit him. Takeaway: You have to be patient and true to what you want, otherwise it may not be a good fit. 5. Look Forward, Don't Look Back Setbacks are normal. Detours are normal. There will always be challenges, but you have to define what you want and what is most important to you. When Tony Dungy made it to the NFL, he switched from a star QB to DB because his goal was to "play in the NFL". He didn't worry about what he did, but wanted to look forward to what he could do. He used the same mentality when he moved into coaching at 25 years old. Takeaway: Learn from the past and use it as a guide, but don't live there. Control what you can control and look forward to the future. 6. Be Generous and Give to Others Tony Dungy gave learning opportunities to assistant coaches such as Mike Tomlin, Leslie Frazier, and Herm Edwards. He did that because he was given opportunities by his head coaches, Dennis Green and Chuck Noll. Tony wanted to build great leaders for the future because he knew it isn't always just about yourself. Servant leadership means giving to others and giving to the team. Takeaway: The smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest differences. When you support and guide others with kindness, you become a shining light for others. "The secret to success is good leadership, and good leadership is all about making the lives of your team members or workers better." - Tony Dungy - - - Follow @coachajkings for more content like this!