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What does it take to drive real culture transformation in large, complex organizations—especially from the inside? Jennifer Bitz—public sector leader, systems thinker, and long-time practitioner of character-based leadership—joins us to share how she’s been reshaping culture across four major institutions by embedding character at every level.

🧠 What you’ll hear:
🏛️ How character is the foundational piece in culture change—not an add-on
🌐 Why lasting transformation requires both individual and systemic development
📍The surprising importance of intuition in system-level change
🪞 How culture is shaped by what leaders model (even when they’re unaware)
🎖️ Why rewards and recognition can be a powerful leverage point for shifting culture
🔁 What happens when awareness is paired with daily development
⚖️ Why “too much of a good thing” can derail a culture
💬 How character-based diagnostics reveal what values statements can’t
📱 The impact of the Virtuosity app—even for a seasoned character leader

If you're working to align culture, leadership, and performance—this conversation offers practical insight and deep inspiration.

Resources

• First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ)
• Diagnosing and strategically implementing a character-based culture (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ltl.20898)
• Character Quotient Assessment in Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/marycrossan/2025/03/26/from-good-to-great-10-ways-to-elevate-your-character-quotient/)
• 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.

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What does it take to move a system from simply knowing what matters to living it out daily?

Manisha Patel—leadership educator, senior faculty member, and advocate for integrated growth—joins us to explore the shift from raising awareness to embedding development within the Canadian Armed Forces.

🧠 What you’ll hear:
📖 Why awareness is only the first step—and not the hardest one
🧩 How development gains traction when people find the right words and structure
🛠️ The challenge of turning short-term training into long-term change
🗣️ What happens when others' feedback reveals gaps in our self-perception
📱 How daily tools like the Virtuosity app help turn insight into action
🏛️ The slow but promising shift toward embedding development in institutional practice
🧭 Why progress depends on patience, buy-in, and leadership from the top

If you're leading inside a system—or trying to build one where growth isn't just encouraged but expected—this episode is a must-listen.

Resources

• Canadian Armed Forces Ethos: Character In The Profession of Arms (https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/reports-publications/canadian-armed-forces-ethos-trusted-to-serve.html)
• Character Quotient Assessment in Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/marycrossan/2025/03/26/from-good-to-great-10-ways-to-elevate-your-character-quotient/)
• 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.

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What happens when someone on the front lines of crisis begins to champion character as the foundation for resilience, leadership, and peak performance?

James Rychard—fire service leader, intercollegiate athlete, and national advocate for character-based leadership—joins us to explore how daily practices can fuel both peak performance and lasting well-being.

🧠 What you’ll hear:
🍁 A bold vision: what Canada could become if character-based leadership started at the top
🔥 Why character—not competence—is the key to sustainable excellence
💪 How firefighting mirrors elite athletics in both mindset and structure
🚨 The hidden burnout risks beyond emergency calls—and how to manage them
🧭 What Benjamin Franklin can teach us about self-assessment today
📉 Why performance drops when character goes unchecked in leadership
📱 How the Virtuosity app helps James stay grounded—shift work and all

If you’ve ever felt the tension between going hard and staying well—or wondered how to lead with strength and humanity—this episode is for you.

Resources

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/books/The-Autobiography-of-Benjamin-Franklin/Benjamin-Franklin/9781416598343)
• Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility - Stumbling Through Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues, One Unvirtuous Day at a Time (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9308927-ben-and-me)
• Character Quotient Assessment in Forbes (https://www.forbes.com/sites/marycrossan/2025/03/26/from-good-to-great-10-ways-to-elevate-your-character-quotient/)
• 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.