The Virtuosity Podcast

Blueprints For Better Leadership with Sonia Zouari

• Virtuosity Character • Season 1 • Episode 15

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What does character have to do with public service leadership, national infrastructure, and long-term stewardship?

Sonia Zouari—Chief Architect at the Department of National Defence—joins us for a powerful, deeply human conversation on why character is the stabilizing force leaders need in a VUCA world. Drawing on 25+ years across architecture, sustainability, policy, and public service, Sonia shares how character transforms technical expertise into service, how it shapes decision-making under pressure, and why leadership today demands deliberate inner work.

From mission-ready infrastructure to parenting, aging parents, and daily leadership choices, Sonia illustrates how character shows up not in grand gestures, but in the small moments that quietly shape trust, culture, and outcomes.

🧠 What you’ll hear:
 🔥 Why technical excellence alone cracks under pressure—and how character turns skill into lasting impact
 🧭 “How do I want to be as a leader now?” — the question guiding Sonia’s transition into the Chief Architect role
 🏗️ Why the hardest challenges in infrastructure and public service aren’t technical, but human
 ⚖️ How integrity shifts from a concept to a daily practice through humility, temperance, and judgment
 🛠️ The power of micro-practices: naming virtues in real time, habit stacking, and creating steadiness in high-pressure systems
 ❤️ How character-based leadership extends beyond work—to parenting, elder care, and showing up with presence rather than pressure

This episode is a masterclass in character as a habit of being—one that enables leaders to navigate ambiguity, steward public trust, and create environments where people can bring their best, even when the stakes are high.

Resources
•  Connect with Sonia Zouari on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniazouari/)
•  Leader Character Framework with Culture, Virtues, and Vices (https://virtuositycharacter.ca/organization/storage_production_6e2934b8-3e20-47a7-aa79-59a612f967be/990340a0-9980-4919-9456-ab5640b405a0.pdf)

About Virtuosity

• Website (https://virtuositycharacter.ca/)
• Monthly Newsletter (https://mailchi.mp/virtuositycharacter/subscribe-to-the-virtuosity-monthly-newsletter)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/virtuosity-character)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/virtuositycharacter/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)

Host, Dr Corey Crossan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreycrossan/), is a research and teaching fellow at The Oxford Character Project where she develops and facilitates character development programs for students, industry, and university partners. Corey’s love for elite performance developed as she competed in top-level athletics for most of her life, highlighted by competing as a NCAA Division 1 athlete. Corey translated her understanding of elite performance into a passion for helping individuals and organizations develop sustained excellence. She is also the co-founder of Virtuosity Character, a mobile software application created to support the daily, deliberate practice of character-based leadership development.

Corey Crossan [00.00.08]
Every choice builds character. On the Virtuosity podcast, we explore how to make everyday a step toward excellence. I'm Corey, your host and co-founder of Virtuosity.

My journey into character development began in sport, where I discovered that strengthening my character didn't just improve my performance. It transformed my entire life. Since then, I've been gripped with understanding how we can intentionally build character to feel both personal and professional success at Virtuosity.

We believe characters like a muscle. It needs consistent training. That's why we've built a research based system that acts as your character gym making character development practical, scalable, and accessible even within the largest organizations.

On this podcast, we sit down with participants from our flagship Virtuosity program, where individuals commit to a full year of daily character development powered by Virtuosity. Our guests will share why character matters to them, how they're applying it in their personal and professional lives, and the insights they've gained along the way.

We hope these conversations challenge, inspire, and equip you with new ways to integrate character into your own journey. Subscribe to stay up to date with our weekly episodes and if something resonates. Share it with your friends and colleagues.

Ready to start your own Virtuosity journey? Download the Virtuosity Character app or visit Virtuosity Character to learn more. Now let's dive into today's episode.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the 15th episode of the Virtuosity Podcast. If you're new, I encourage you to check out our launch episode with Mary Crossan for a powerful introduction to the series.

Today, we're thrilled to welcome Sonia Zuccari as our guest. Sonia is a proud public servant, award winning architect, passive house designer, retrofit expert, and change management professional with over 25 years of international multi-sector experience, her career spans real property design and delivery, policy development, leading high performing teams and mentoring the next generation of design and public service professionals.

Sonia has been a national voice in advancing passive House, the world's leading energy efficiency standard within Canada's affordable housing sector and across the federal government. Her portfolio includes the country's first penalized passive House and Leed platinum multi-unit residential building, and several initiatives that have advanced sustainability, accessibility and digital transformation in the built environment.

Her work has earned recognition at home and abroad from the Ontario Association of Architects, Women in Architecture feature to passive House Canada's Herald, or award to first place in an international design competition for a home for children with cerebral palsy. She donated her winnings to create an iPad enabled therapy floor for the Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre, reflecting her belief that technical excellence is most meaningful when it lifts others up.

After meaningful chapters at Parks Canada and Public Services and Procurement Canada. Sonia joined the Department of National Defence as Chief Architect, where she supports the delivery of mission ready infrastructure, develops defence specific architectural policy and fosters environments where people can contribute their best.

Sonia's leadership is also shaped profoundly by motherhood as the parent of three girls, including a complex care child. She practices patience, humility and compassion every day, strengthening her ability to lead with presence rather than pressure.

Grounded in gratitude and purpose, Sonia is committed to character based leadership, seeing character as the golden thread that transforms technical skill into lasting impact. While Sonia, it's so great to have you on and the first question I always start with is why does character matter to you?

Sonia Zouari [00.04.11]
Thank you so much for having me. I'm looking forward to the discussion I had. What a great question to start with.

Character matters a lot to me because that's the essence of who we are. It's not about the title on the business cards or the technical skills we've picked along the way. As important as those are, and in our world, where AI can take on more and more of all the task based work character is that one thing that it can't replicate.

It's really how we listen, how we respond, how we collaborate, how we earn trust. It's how people experience us as leaders. And my own journey, the character was kind of accidental. I stumbled into it through my ID leadership training and the Government of Canada mosaic Leadership Development program, and it happened right at this app. Virtuosity was launching.

I felt generally energized. Finally, a real structure, a shared language, emotional intelligence. Myth has always felt vague and abstract to me, became practical, became something I could see I could name and actually I could work on.

I had spent decades sharpening my technical toolkit and stepping into change. Leadership made it impossible to ignore that character with that golden thread tying all of it together. Without character, technical skill can be brittle, reactive, ego driven, focused on individual output, not collective impact, and it cracks into pressure.

But when your skills are grounded in humility, integrity, sound judgment, they become service. They become relational, not just transactional. And in my field. The architectural, engineering and construction industry, that's everything. Our work is inherently interdisciplinary.

Good solutions only come when people feel safe to challenge each other. When credit is shared, when listening is genuine, that's character at work in a complex system. And that complexity in my field isn't just a human. The industry itself is shifting.

Modern methods of construction, robotics, digital trends, smart and connected buildings, AI driven design, and a relentless push for sustainability and resilience. These changes are rewriting how we design, how we build, and how we operate buildings. And here's the truth. Technical expertise alone won't get us through that.

It takes character to make collaboration work across disciplines, cultures, and timelines on a personal level to trust others. I need consistency, predictability, and transparency. So I'm strengthening my own character is how I build that same foundation for others to trust me.

And honestly, parenting teenagers, especially with different abilities and no user manual has been my real character. Jim. The more intentional I've become with my character, the stronger our relationship is getting. And that feedback loop is priceless.

And in the public servers in general, character matters even more. We're navigating cuts, rapid change, massive expectations around innovation and transformation, all inside a system that can be pretty risk averse. Technical skill alone can't carry that load.

We live in a Vuca world volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and our brains may just default to fear. And when fear is loud, it's character that quiets the room. So leaders with strong character create those conditions where people can take small smart risks, collaborate, and actually innovate. And that's exactly what this moment is demanding from us.

So for me, character is not soft skill. It's that stabilizing system, a habit of being under pressure. It's what turns uncertainty into clarity and fear and to trust. For our teams, our cultures, and our institutions.

So strengthening my character, I see that as a responsibility, not because I question it, but because, like anything worthwhile, it only grows with deliberate effort under pressure. Even strong character can slip if you're not nurturing it. Character isn't fixed. It's cultivated.

And my commitment is simple to lead with focus, accountability and humility and keep strengthening the virtues that matter most right now. Transcendence. Temperance and judgment.

The Virtuosity program makes that growth tangible. It offers the structure, the micro practices, and the daily discipline that actually change behavior.

Corey Crossan [00.10.08]
Wow, that is such. I think that's one of the most comprehensive responses we've had on the podcast so far. And you know, every single time we connect, you really do talk about living character and how much you have to double down on it.

And I'm really curious about. I mean, we were just talking before the podcast, so we started recording about some of the ways that you have been doubling down on character. What are some of those things in your in your life that are really requiring requiring your character and how is that? What's the impact of that?

Perhaps you could share some some examples?

Sonia Zouari [00.10.42]
Sure. Everything that my life is actually is calling for activating my my character. I think for me, it comes down to really paying attention to how I show up in every small moment, every day moments.

So it's nothing like the big heroic stuff, just those quiet choices. My tone, my presence, my intention. And that shift really sharpened for me. When I stepped into the chief architect role, I was forming a natural moment to reset and ask myself, okay, so how do I want to be as a leader now?

And, uh, being in Virtuosity alongside my Canadian Armed Forces colleagues raised the bar even higher. So the discipline around character is incredible and very inspiring. And when I joined the gang, I stepped into a team already making a difference, already delivering fit for purpose different infrastructure from coast to coast to coast, shaping policies and ensuring every project reflects excellence, responsible use of public funds and a commitment to operational, environmental, social sustainability, accessibility and long term value.

All of that and early on a challenge. If I wanted people to bring their best version of themselves to work. I had to start by bringing the best version of myself to work, and that's where self-care and character became my anchor.

Integrity shifted from a concept to a daily practice for me. I would explain the why behind my decisions be transparent about constraints and they would admit when I don't know something. Instead of trying to always force certainty, I also realized that integrity isn't always personal. Honesty. It's alignment.

Alignment between my values, my words, my action, and the organization's mandate. And that distinction really matters. Personal integrity says be true to yourself. Leadership. Integrity says be true to the mission, even when it's hard, and balancing both. That's where it's real discipline.

And that's also when the Government of Canada, key leadership competencies and Virtuosity finally clicked together for me. Very complementary. The key leadership competencies tells us what leaders must do. Uphold integrity and respect. And religiosity shows us how to do it.

So all of a sudden, integrity became actionable. Naming my values, checking my motives. And that's really activating humility to strengthen integrity. Pausing before reacting. And that's activating temperance to support integrity.

I started and learning the habit of stepping in too fast, solving too quickly, or letting it drive over on my temperance. So there was there was an effort to end your learning, to learn new habits. Collaboration became less about meetings and more about inviting, quieter voices, widening the circle, reminding myself that no single discipline holds the full picture.

Accountability became more purposeful too. It got clearer earlier. I named my expectations instead of leaving people to test them. And transcendence showed up in how I frame our work and key meetings. I'll bring us back to purpose.

The scale of investment was stored in its long term impact, and when we all connect to why it matters, the tone shifts. It's not about individual preference. It becomes collective contribution. Serving a mission. And then there are all the micro practices, for example honoring commitment or being proactive and renegotiate them early.

And that's not just about reliability. It's really creating some kind of steadiness in a system that's under pressure. And one of the most meaningful shifts for me has been naming virtues in real time. When I see courage, humility, collaboration, I call it out.

It sounds so simple, but it changes the climate. People feel valued not just for what they deliver, but for how they show up. And the more I notice it than others, the more accountable I feel to live with my son.

So Virtuosity made all of this from visible, nimble, something that can practice in the small moment. It's still early work for me, but it's very deliberate, and that Deliberateness is creating the safe space where my team is trying to innovate and grow, and a system that is often dominated by fear and inertia.

That's the reality of the public service. And these behaviors aren't magically fixing everything, but they make me more intentional. And I feel conversations are opening up and trust is forming slowly.

And the first thing I learned when I joined D&D is slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. So I am feeling more grounded. Not flawless, just purposeful. But I think I feel I feel that the difference and honestly the deepest character work is at home.

That's where the gap between my intention and my behavior shows up very obviously. And this year, something shifted. I started naming my missteps out loud. So a simple message to my daughter saying, I'm sorry I acted agitated yesterday. My reaction was disproportionate.

She just repelled stress so much faster than perfection could ever do. And that small dose of humility with using the proper language. It changes everything. Our conversations are deeper.

And when I activate temperance and try to slow down enough to listen what's underneath my daughter's words, I become more grounded. And here's where really Virtuosity really opened my eyes. I realized that justice isn't just institutional. It shows up in those micro moments at home.

Was my reaction fair? Was it proportionate? Was it even handed? Did I treat my daughter appropriately? Even when I was tired and stressed, that awareness changed not only how a parent, but how I repair.

And then there is my mom. And that's the emotional space where character feels both the hardest and the most profound responsibility. My mom lives alone, oceans away. She is aging and her health is declining. And I've been trying to practice compassion through presence.

When we talk, I slow down. I listen between the lines. I ask what feels right for you instead of assuming or trying to decide what she needs. There's another layer to this. My mother is part of the first Bourguiba generation, the Tunisian woman whose rights, education and autonomy advanced decades before Canadian women gained similar rights after independence in 1956.

Tunisia's first president, Bourguiba, invested 20% of the national budget in education. He treated girls and boys education equally and as essential national infrastructure. By the early 1960s, Tunisian women had access to contraception. By 1973, they had access to legal abortion and full civil rights.

Well before many Western countries, including Canada. Bourguiba wasn't perfect, but on women's rights and education, he led with extraordinary character, courage to defy tradition and religious oppression.

This is a muslim country judgment to invest in education before highways, and foresight to recognize that gender equality was not social policy, it was the engine of nation building. That single leadership choice changed the trajectory of a country, and it shaped my mother.

My mother carries that legacy in her bones. She is strength and intellect, leadership and motherhood. A woman shaped by a moment in history when character was expressed through bold, principled, nation transforming decisions and standing beside her now as she ages, feels like honoring everything she stood for and everything that makes me who I am today.

And the impact is simple but powerful. She feels loved, heard, respected. Not managed. And for me, being present with her truly present grounds me.

It reminds me that real care isn't about fixing. It's about being considerate, patient, compassionate, and these are character virtues in their purest form. Today, even with all the distance, we're closer than we've been in years.

And when I step back and look at all of this work team, parenting family, none of it is rocket science. These are behaviors we all know. The difference now is the intentionality.

The character will has become my canvas. It helps me pause, notice, think, and choose, especially when things are moving fast. And I'm not trying to master everything at once. I'm just trying to stay aware, stay harnessed, and keep growing.

And Virtuosity gives me enough structure to practice that every day, quietly, consistently, and with purpose.

Corey Crossan [00.22.35]
Wow, so many rich examples. Wow wow wow. There's. I just I don't even know where to start.

But, you know, talking about the the example with your mother, talk about, you know, in, in the character development framework that you use the seven strategies, we talk about exemplars. And it seems like she's really been an exemplar to you. And you've almost in an interesting way, used that to actually activate your humanity for her in such a beautiful way.

It was really, really beautiful how you just shared all of that, that really deep, rich humanity. It's just absolutely amazing. And the other parts that were sticking out to me too were, you know, using the language of character with others, you know, admitting your kind of shortcomings that you're sharing.

And I think that's such a powerful piece, too. It's something that we've also added into the Virtuosity, like stage one exercises, where it's not just about noticing virtues and vices in ourselves and others, but then taking it a step further and having a conversation about it.

And I think that's been so interesting, like talking about the virtues that you notice in somebody else and having that conversation, like how did you develop resilience in your life is a really interesting conversation to have, but then also sharing, you know, when you have your shortcomings, like, like you've suggested and how powerful that can be and how much of a connector it can be.

So such a simple practice, but such a powerful one. So you had leadership kind of sprinkled all throughout there, but you do a lot of work in the area of leadership development. And again, you were starting to get at the connections between character and leadership.

Do you want to expand on that a little bit more for us?

Sonia Zouari [00.24.09]
Sure. Well, the public service today we’re being asked to deliver more with less. We're being asked to rethink old rules and to move at a pace we aren't designed for. So that's not just technical. Uh, it's a character challenge.

We need courage to question the legacy rules that don't serve us anymore. We need temperance to stay calm because everything is ambiguous. We need accountability to all the outcome. Especially that the path is nothing, if anything but linear. And we need judgment to know when to push, when to pause, and when to just listen.

And transformation stalls when character is weak and we are in a transformation mode. And when transformation stalls. Well Canadian. Pay the price and go through your past. So character becomes very important.

It shapes how we lead when things are complex, like in this context now, where the stakes are high and where the answers just are clear. And um, we try to reflect really competence. It tells you what first person can do. But character tells you what they will do and that difference. It's everything when the stakes are high.

In my world, buildings, infrastructure. The hardest problems are rarely technical. They are human. Conflicting incentives, siloed cultures, tight timelines, limited resources, and a level of scrutiny that can make people really risk averse.

In that environment. Character becomes the differentiator. We make real property decisions that will ripple across decades. Almost every decision we make will outlive us.

We're talking about stewardship of public funds, advancing sustainability, accessibility, inclusion, community well-being, and so many of these decisions. They don't have perfect answers. We're navigating ambiguity daily in my unit.

Every project we sign upon is a promise, a promise that we've balanced operational needs with sustainability, resilience, accessibility, fiscal responsibility, and so on. Those decisions are technically 100%, but they're also moral.

They require courage to speak up about risks. They require humanity to bring others into the decision making. They require accountability to all the outcome and collaboration to integrate disciplines that don't naturally speak the same language.

Character is what terms integrated design from a checklist to a mindset. It creates that kind of environment where people feel safe to challenge assumptions, offer different perspectives, and innovate, especially in the architectural engineering construction sector that is still bound by ancient methods of construction.

Yet we're being asked to reimagine itself for a future that is regenerative, intelligent, inclusive, and people's center. We can teach, process. We can teach building information, modeling, building codes, everything.

But none of it matters. If the technical expert crumbles under pressure, if they can't regulate their emotion, if their ego hijacks the room. Character is where the lines competence, power and responsibility with the common good and in a sector, shape and communities for generations.

I think character is foundation.

Corey Crossan [00.28.45]
Wow. There is a line that you said and I've just lost it in my head, but I absolutely loved it. It was around something, around how technical. It's usually not failures and technical pieces. It was something around the character.

But you said it in such a lovely way, so we don't have to go back and listen to it again. But it is so true. We we definitely cover off the competence development, the technical development.

Oh it was that the the challenges or issues we have are human problems. That's what you said I think and I think it's so true. And you the examples you outlined are, you know, they can resonate with so many of us.

And so why is it taking us so long to prioritize the development of our character equally alongside those competencies? But I know that there is a lot that you are doing around embedding character explicitly to support leadership development.

So could you share some of those initiatives and perhaps some of the challenges and associated opportunities that you're that you're experiencing?

Sonia Zouari [00.29.45]
So with Virtuosity. Character isn't very abstract anymore. And so I'm trying to weave it into how I think, how I work, how I act, how I decide, how I reflect, and I lean on the leader character framework a lot.

So I keep it on my desktop. It's like a grounding counterweight to my natural drive and my excess of caffeine. And, uh, when decisions pile up, I take the time to pause and stress test my choices.

I ask myself, am I? Am I activating the humanity, collaboration humanity to balance my drive? Am I showing accountability not just for results, but also for people? Am I coaching and creating a growth opportunities while still delivering on commitments like that?

Accountability piece is a big one. Because here's a thing when accountability is focused on results, it drifts into micromanagement. Total control.

But when you balance accountability with humility, humanity, and collaboration. That's when trust actually forms. And that's when people plus performance both thrive.

And character really helps me navigate those natural leadership tensions. Like caring for others while caring for myself. Extending grace while holding expectation. And that's humanity and accountability in action.

Basically staying optimistic without using realism. And that's where transcendence meets prudence. These aren't easy balances and origin. Finding the sweet spot. It's never a straightforward answer.

It shifts. It shifts. Contacts with people with time end. But that's the point. These tensions are what makes leadership deeply human. And building those habits. Building character. Help us get there.

So using the lens of character really helps me stay grounded. It minimizes my blind spots. It reduces my fear. And most importantly, it helps me feel at peace with my decision.

I like the guardrail of having a framework to follow, especially for something so that was so abstract. And my biggest gain is a structured way to reflect the Virtuosity that makes it so practical.

So I have it stacked my morning up, check in with my first coffee, and at night I did a quiet couple minutes to reflect, and the app gives me the simple evening prompt, measured actions aligned with your goals.

And harnessing that question stuck with me. So now every morning I've built this little new habit. I glance at my to do list and pick my top three priorities. It's quick, but it sets the tone for my day.

I also take a minute to review my calendar and ask myself, how do I want to show up for each of these meetings today? And that tiny step is a game changer, because when I do that, I stop drowning in transactional tasks and I start owning my presence, my energy, my impact.

That's focus. That's how we honor time, our only non-renewable resource. And I try to model this openly with my team. I see how I activate transcendence, how I drive accountability, how I collaborate and invite quieter voices.

I narrate my thinking out loud. I share the risks I'm wearing, where I might be biased, where I need help. I show them the character mechanics, doing the thing behind decisions, and try to create the environment for them to do the same.

Now the challenges were in technical fields like architecture, engineering. Character can sound soft. We rely on drawing scouts schedule hard data precision.

So convincing people that character is about the choices you make that accelerate performance. Not an innate personality trait. It takes time, but in very encouraged because character based leadership is now a priority for the Canadian Armed Forces.

And even recently, our Prime Minister was introduced by his daughter through the lens of his character, which signals a cultural shift at the highest level.

So maybe the real focus should be on progress, not the obstacles, because the military can lead on character technical fields too. And the real opportunity is to make character a habit of being not, of course, not an initiative, but a shared practice that shapes how we treat each other, how we solve problems, and how we steward public trust.

Corey Crossan [00.35.49]
Mhm. You know, I love when you, um, you specified your habit stacking that you have it stacked with your first coffee of the day. Yeah. I also have two coffees each day. So I don't know how many of you have but that resonated.

But yeah, that habit stacking, it's such a powerful piece when you are trying to to create that new habit. And I'm so glad that that stuck with you.

And, you know, talking about the Virtuosity piece. We're all the way at December now, which is just wild how quickly time has flown. And you started the program in January.

Um, now, having gone through the program for almost 12 months now, committing to that daily practice, what are some of the specific opportunities you see in leveraging Virtuosity in that leadership development piece?

I mean, you've talked a lot about examples already. Are there any other opportunities you see there?

Sonia Zouari [00.36.33]
So when I started Virtuosity, it really felt like stepping into a space of curiosity and discovery. Because for the first time in my leadership journey, I had the opportunity to participate to a structured, practical way to turn character into daily practices.

And actually, that metaphor of the character gym and building your character muscle resonated immediately. This is ago when I shifted from subject matter expert to manager. Physical exercise became my anger.

So now, as an aspiring executive, Virtuosity gives me the tools to take that same kind of discipline to the next level. And it's this amazing opportunity to align who I am, who I want to be, and who my organization needs me to be.

So we really see character as the key there. And what Virtuosity really gives me is rhythm for reflection. Short, intentional check in with myself that helped me know the spiders.

Um, and without Virtuosity, I would have missed. Missed all of that awareness and discovery, and now I am able to catch myself when my drive starts outrunning my temperance.

Sometimes I it's a little bit delayed, but it's it's coming. And I catch myself when my thinking brain goes on overdrive. Um, and I know, I realize when I need to activate a bit of humility and just really listen.

And these micro adjustments. Day after day, they're becoming habits, especially at home. I see I really see the benefit and but then the leadership context. It's really those habits that change the way we lead.

And um, one of the biggest gifts that generosity gave me is that shared language. And it's not just for work, it's for life. Uh, it allows me to describe behavior without judgment.

I can easily say, oh, my drive was fine, but my listening was low. And that shifts the conversation. It creates psychological safety because we're naming what's happening. Not who someone is.

And that removes the defensiveness and brings accuracy. And, um, uh, like on a on a positive note, I still remember the first time I named, uh, I named the virtue with with my one of my, uh, direct reports.

And I saw just his face beaming, and it just wow. It was it was that moment. And since it's like I am on a detective mode because I know what it can bring to name those virtues and, and others.

And this like this work where, uh, on the virtual reality program spent so beautifully into my home life. So we occasionally have family movie nights where we reflect on leadership moments we saw on screen, courage and bad decisions, good intentions.

It's fun, it's engaging. And, um, somehow it became an unexpected bonding ritual with my teenager. Let me tell you, that's a gift.

And, um, another opportunity. And we talked about we talked about this earlier reflection. So Virtuosity doesn't just help me look back on what I did. It helps me understand how I did.

It helps me see that my blind spots, especially where sometimes fear narrows my perspective and when my strengths dip into excess. So I I'm very proactive and intentional in trying to calibrate drive and humility, collaboration, accountability, judgment with temperance.

And another gift is the community. So very early on, I partnered with a colleague in the program, and every morning they would carve out ten minutes to connect.

We reflect on the day before and set our intentions for the day ahead, using the character we was on as supportive and so practical.

And actually, that partnership opened doors for me, including participating to some meetings with Government of Canada. Character based leadership, community of practice.

And that's what really like meeting. Learn about and discover the incredible work CRA or the Canadian Armed Forces are doing in that space.

And that was one thing that drew me to Georgia, and I wanted to be part of a culture that generally values character development.

And, um, but overall, like the greatest opportunity I see with Virtuosity is alignment. Alignment between who we are, who we aspire to be, and what our organization needs us to be.

And, um, it helps me make that real. Repetition, reflection, shared language, reminders, the exemplars and the community.

It's it's really how I try to rehearse in the small moments. And I hope I will be ready for the big ones. Wow.

Corey Crossan [00.42.41]
Yeah. The the last. Just picking up on the last piece around the community. I think that is the part that people love most about the Virtuosity program itself is the, the people that you connect with and the partnership.

I didn't realize that you'd meet every single morning. That is impressive commitment, but just a ten minute check in I think is such a powerful idea. So good for you for starting that.

And it does go such a long way, that intentional piece. So yeah. And we've talked before, I think on previous episodes just it's really hard to do a new habit, stick to something by yourself.

So when you have that partner piece or that community piece where you're coming back to that anchor point every month, it's such a seems to be a really good structure.

If, you know, if you're if you're thinking about engaging in this yourself. So just looking at the time as we start to wind down here, the question that I always ask our guests at the end of our time is around the character quotient.

And so if there's listeners listening that don't know what the character quotient is, it's essentially a set of ten questions that Mary and I put together that has you thinking about the the degree to which you're kind of bringing character into your sphere.

So we have four questions around character, your character awareness for questions around character development, and two questions around the degree to which you're applying character in your professional life.

So did you get a chance to do your questions? And if you did, do you want to share a little bit about how that went for you?

Perhaps some areas that you're really proud of and perhaps an area that you want to work on?

Sonia Zouari [00.44.18]
Sure, I did test my character quotient and it came out at 77. And honestly, that feels right.

Like this whole year it's been stage one year for me. Discovery, paying attention, learning the language, describing the patterns.

Um, so this this stage wasn't really about fixing more about awareness. And actually that awareness is what's preventing my blind spots from becoming dividers.

Um, I've really spent this year gaining familiarity with all the 62 virtues on the 11 dimensions of character reading above the behaviors, trying to watch myself in real time, at work, at home, in stressful moments, in quieter moments and just noticing.

Not not fixing, but seeing, decoding, trying to understand myself and how I am making decisions.

Now, from my assessment for you. Uh, strength really stood out. And, um. They fell through. The moment I saw them.

Accountability, I take ownership. Something goes wrong. I don't look around for someone to blame, I stepped in. I take commitment seriously.

I always act in the best interests of the organization, not just my own preferences.

Um. Integrity. Um. Transcendence. I naturally connect to purpose.

Um, I'm always thinking about the bigger context. I believe in understanding starts at the top, so I'm always focused on who we serve. Long term stewardship. Why decisions matters.

That gives me a direction drive. I bring momentum, energy. I care deeply.

Um. I like to deliver. I like to move things forward.

Um. Humility. I'm always eager to learn. Uh, listen. Across disciplines. I never assume I have the full picture.

So these strengths really served me well. And where I am, where I need to grow. Is keeping the strengths in balance because stay or stay joint.

Taught me that my biggest risk isn't a lack of strength, is when my strengths slip into excess and become detainers.

Like accountability. Sometimes I took on too much and, um, I carry things alone. And even before my own needs.

And with drive, I feel the pressure. Um, I feel overly responsible for outcomes.

So this year, it's been really learning the mechanics of character. What anchors me, what really throws me off balance, what I need to grow into, the person I want to be.

And, um, part of that growth and learning old habits like stepping into fast, solving too quickly, letting urgency and temperance and awareness is that first step.

And noticing isn't passive like helping the foundation for growth.

And, um, now I'm ready to move from noticing to practicing, discovering to strengthening. Because growth character isn't a destination, it's a lifelong discipline journey.

And I signed up for that.

Corey Crossan [00.48.00]
Oh, yeah. So many, uh, so many rich examples again that you, you always provide and it's, it's really clear how much you've committed to this over the last year.

The part that you're saying about, like the mechanics of character that continues to be such a one of the most critical elements for me to just even noticing that your strengths can become excess vices.

It's such an aha moment. And when you start to see the the way that those dimensions work together, it feels like, as you said earlier, it's like a compass for you where you can then start to target.

Okay. What needs to to strengthen next.

It was it was so wonderful hearing all of the rich examples you provided, one of the ones that I hadn't picked up on yet, but just talking about how you have a connection with your teenager around noticing the different virtues.

And that's, um, that's a practice that my mom and I also share. Whenever we watch a movie or a video, we're always talking about it through the character lens.

So I can definitely resonate with that and so many other examples you provided. So thank you so much for joining it.

Is there anything else that you wanted to share before we do wrap things up today.

Sonia Zouari [00.49.02]
Well, thank you so much for this opportunity. It seems like I am making a public commitment here and public commitments are strong commitments.

So my hope is to keep practicing and growing and learning. And I know my accountability partner will be very busy in the next little while.

So thank you so much for the opportunity to share.

Corey Crossan [00.49.21]
Oh, thank you so much for sharing. Such an inspiration. Just to know how much you are committed to this.

And it fuels all the work that we do, and I'm sure all the others that are listening. So thanks again so much for joining us.

You have just finished another episode from the Virtuosity podcast. If you have any questions and want to connect, please reach out to me at corey@virtuositycharacter.ca. I'm also on LinkedIn, so let's connect.

As always, thank you so much for listening. Bye for now.