CAS 1543 (Ethical and Intercultural Leadership): Week 5 Guide

This week explores how virtues, character strengths, and personal values contribute to ethical leadership. Students learn about the VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths framework, which identifies core virtues and strengths that influence leadership behavior. By completing the VIA Character Survey, students reflect on their own strengths and evaluate how these qualities support effective and ethical leadership.

Values Activity

A useful tool in understanding the strengths of your character through positive traits was developed by Peterson and Seligman (2004) and called VIA. The VIA classification includes three conceptual levels: virtues, character strengths, and situational themes. Virtues are universal core characteristics and include wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.

Peterson and Seligman believe that “these virtues must be present at above-threshold values for an individual to be deemed of good character” (p. 13). They say that character strengths are “the psychological ingredients–process or mechanisms–that define the virtues.” (p. 13).

Character strengths allow you to develop perspective and include strengths such as creativity, curiosity, and open-mindedness. “Situational themes are specific habits that lead people to manifest given character strengths in given situations” (p. 14). For example, school themes might be different from work themes or family themes. You might be competitive at school but not in social situations with your friends. Situational themes are used to achieve strengths in a given context, and individuals can achieve similar results using different situational themes.

The VIA measures character strengths using a strengths-based approach to measuring character. The VIA classification scheme is organized around six virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004):

1. Courage: “doing what is right, even when one has much to lose” (p. 36)
2. Justice: fairness; citizenship; equity
3. Wisdom and knowledge: “intelligence hard fought for, and the used for good…noble intelligence–the presence of which no one is resentful and everyone is appreciative” (p. 39)
4. Humanity: showing generosity and being altruistic; exhibiting prosocial behaviors such as kindness and benevolence.
5. Temperance: the ability to monitor and manage emotions; showing self-control
6. Transcendence: having a connection to someone higher than oneself that inspires hope, awe, and gratitude; achieving meaning and purpose beyond self-interest

The VIA classification includes 24 character strengths that are organized around these six virtues. Peterson and Seligman developed the VIA Survey assessment to measure these 24 character strengths. The VIA Survey is scientifically validated and is available free at the following website: www.viacharacter.org.

Simply click on “Take the free VIA inventory and strengths” link and follow the instructions. The online survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete. A comprehensive VIA report will be sent to you by email shortly after you finish the assessment. Your report will identify your top character strengths, giving you greater insights into what makes you who you are.

Excerpt from Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (2013). Exploring leadership: For college students who want to make a difference. San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publisher. 

Answer the following question: What are 2-3 values that makes someone a good leader and why? Then take the free values survey at Via Character.

Once you have received your results. Post your top five values from the survey results. Do you agree or disagree with your results? Respond to at least two peers after posting.