Ivey Business School has launched Character-Driven Leadership, a free online course for small business, not-for-profit, charity, and community leaders. The launch marks the latest milestone in the $3.5-million partnership between BMO and Ivey, which was first announced in 2023 to expand leadership programming across Western University and into the community. Developed by Ivey Business School's Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, the self-paced course equips leaders with practical tools to strengthen the personal qualities that shape sound judgment, especially when the right path forward is not obvious.
The course is built for a specific and sometimes overlooked audience: leaders of small and medium-sized enterprises, not-for-profits, charities, and community organizations. These leaders make consequential calls every day, often without the resources or support systems available at larger organizations.
Delivered entirely online and at each learner's own pace, the course is made up of 10 short modules totalling approximately six-and-a-half hours of learning. Each module combines short videos, animations, reflection exercises, practical tools and quizzes that leaders can apply immediately in their own work, with their teams, and in their communities.
"This course meets leaders where leadership is actually practiced, in moments of uncertainty, complexity, and consequence," said Nicole Haggerty, Acting Dean, Ivey Business School. "It provides practical tools grounded in research, while helping leaders strengthen the judgment and character that good decisions ultimately depend on. These are the same leader character frameworks we use at Ivey to develop future leaders and that organizations around the world use to strengthen leadership capacity. We are grateful to BMO for recognizing that leadership is not simply about acquiring knowledge, but about developing the capacity to navigate difficult choices well, and for making this opportunity accessible to leaders who rarely have access to this kind of development despite the significance of the decisions they make every day."
"Strong leadership is essential to helping businesses and non-profits navigate change, create opportunity and contribute to a thriving economy," said Mona Malone, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer, BMO. "Working with business owners and organizations across Canada, we see the challenges leaders face as they grow their businesses, support their employees and adapt to an evolving environment. Through our partnership with Ivey Business School, we're helping make leadership development more accessible through Character-Driven Leadership, a practical resource that turns research into actionable tools to help leaders build resilience, retain talent and strengthen their organizations for long-term success."
The program is grounded in more than 15 years of research that began after the 2008 global financial crisis, when Ivey researchers set out to understand what role leadership played in the meltdown. After studying more than 300 senior leaders across sectors in the landmark Leadership on Trial study, the research team reached a conclusion that reframed how they thought about leadership going forward. The crisis wasn't a failure of competence, but a failure of character. Competence tells you what a leader can do, but character tells you what they will do, especially when the pressure is on and the answer isn't clear.
The course introduces the Ivey Leader Character Framework, which defines character as 11 interconnected dimensions – including humility, courage, accountability, and integrity – that influence and impact one’s judgments and subsequent behaviour. The framework dispels the myth that character is something one is born with that remains innate or fixed, but rather, it functions like a muscle that can be developed and strengthened over time. Learners are guided through what the program calls the “character gym,” a five-step process to discover, activate, strengthen, connect, and sustain the character required to drive good leadership.
Each module pairs Ivey faculty with practicing leaders from small businesses, charities, and mission-driven organizations, ensuring the lessons are rooted in real-world decision-making rather than theory alone. The course also features perspectives from BMO CEO Darryl White and Chief Administrative Officer Mona Malone, who share how character has shaped their own approach to leadership.
"This course brings 15 years of research to life in a way that's genuinely useful for the leaders who need it most," said Dusya Vera, Executive Director of Ivey's Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership. “We didn't want this to be an academic exercise. Every module is built to give leaders something they can apply immediately, in their own organizations, with their own teams.”
Learners who complete all 10 modules and their accompanying knowledge checks receive a certificate of completion and a digital badge they can share on LinkedIn and other professional platforms. Character-Driven Leadership is available now, free of charge, at https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/leadership/for-leaders/character-driven-leadership-course/
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