The Character Edge cover art

The Character Edge

Leading and Winning with Integrity

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Character Edge

By: Robert L. Caslen Jr., Michael D. Matthews
Narrated by: James Lurie, Michael D. Matthews, Robert L. Caslen Jr.
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

True leadership is about character – this is the key to winning ‘the right way’.

In a world where we’re bombarded by messages of ‘winning at any cost’, dishonest politicians, CEOs committing fraud, disgraced military commanders and cheating athletes, integrity matters more than ever. The Character Edge explains the powerful role character plays in trust, culture and leadership, and offers readers tools to exercise and strengthen their own.

Reaching from the battlefield to the classroom and beyond, former superintendent of West Point Robert Caslen and professor of psychology Dr. Michael Matthews, explore the vital link between strong character and strong leadership, and explain why the latter cannot exist without the former.

‘Caslen and Matthews show how and why this fundamental inner architecture of leadership can – and must – be built.' Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great.

Career Success Leadership Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success Self-Esteem Business Military Management

Listeners also enjoyed...

Trust-Based Leadership: Marine Corps Leadership Concepts for Today's Business Leaders cover art
Iron-Sharpened Leadership cover art
Mindset Secrets for Winning: How to Bring Personal Power to Everything You Do cover art
Stronger cover art
Essentials of Leadership cover art
Positively Energizing Leadership cover art
Lead from the Heart cover art
Build Better Teams cover art
Yours Truly cover art
Success Mindsets cover art
Chutzpah cover art
Work Is Love Made Visible cover art
Moodset cover art
The Long Win cover art
The Truth About Leadership cover art
Primary Greatness cover art

Critic reviews

The Character Edge is inspiring and practical in equal measure, drawing upon both scientific research and personal experience in how, and why, to develop strengths of heart, mind and gut. Only Mike Matthews and Bob Caslen could have written it. This will surely be an instant classic! (Angela Duckworth, CEO of the Character Lab and bestselling author of Grit)
Few great leaders have charismatic personality, but all have character that inspires. Caslen and Matthews show how and why this fundamental inner architecture of leadership can – and must – be built. (Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and co-author of Built to Last)
In The Character Edge, Caslen and Matthews offer the definitive guide to how individuals and organizations may build and utilize positive character to flourish and win. Corporations who ‘get’ this message excel, those that do not will fail in the long run (Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo)
What determines the importance and long-lasting impact of leadership? Lieutenant general and former West Point superintendent Caslen and psychologist Matthews examine the qualities of character that make a leader worth following . . . [their] combined experience culminates in a fascinating study of leadership (Booklist)
If you ever aspire to effective leadership, whether at the tactical or strategic level, you'll soon learn that the most important ingredient in effective leadership is character. Bob Caslen and Mike Matthews have captured this truth in both theory and application with moving and insightful stories and personal experiences. This book will both challenge you and motivate you to lead a life of integrity and honor, and in so doing, inspire the men and women you lead to the highest achievements they never thought possible. Bob and Mike have something very, very important here. I hope it goes viral in a big way. (Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Retired), and bestselling author of Make Your Bed: 10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL)
No reviews yet