Practice Management Tips

Good character traits list

Free PDF 2 pages, print-ready Clinician-reviewed

Maja Popovska Last updated October 30, 2026

A good character traits list is a structured record of the positive qualities a person shows, written as behavior you have observed. This free two-page template groups nine prompts under three categories: Communication skills, leadership qualities and adaptability. Each of the nine prompts has its own free-text box for your examples, and the sheet closes with Interpretation and How to use sections. Therapists, coaches and managers can use it to track strengths from one review to the next. If your practice already sends digital forms through Pabau, the practice management platform we build, you can collect the completed list the same way.

Template details

Format: Printable PDF, 2 pages
Sections: 4 sections
Fields to complete: 18 fields
Best for: Practice Management Tips

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Download your free good character traits list

A two-page fill-in sheet with client details, an introduction and nine prompts across communication skills, leadership qualities and adaptability. Each of the nine prompts has its own notes box, followed by Interpretation and How to use sections for your summary and next steps.

What’s inside

Client details fields for name, profession and the date of review
Introduction box for the purpose and setting of the review
Communication skills prompts on verbal and written skills, listening, empathy and clarity
Leadership qualities prompts on integrity, ethical decisions, accountability and motivating others
Adaptability prompts on openness to change, flexibility and new technologies
Interpretation and How to use boxes for your summary and agreed next steps

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PDF · 2 pages · 131 KB No sign-up needed Updated October 2026

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A good character traits list records positive qualities as specific behavior you have seen, rather than as labels.

This template sets out nine prompts under communication skills, leadership qualities and adaptability, each with its own free-text box.

The PDF is a blank sheet with no definitions, so use the trait tables in this article as your reference.

Treat a completed list as a conversation starter, never as a clinical score or a diagnosis.

Practice software such as Pabau can send the list as a digital form and keep each completed copy in the patient record.

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What is a good character traits list?

A good character traits list is a structured record of the positive qualities a person shows, such as honesty, empathy and accountability. Character traits are the consistent ways someone acts toward other people and toward their own work.

The most widely cited framework is the VIA Classification of Character Strengths. Psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman published it in 2004, grouping 24 strengths under six virtues. For a wider clinical view of personality, the American Psychological Association is a reliable place to start.

The list supports observation and discussion. It does not measure a person or produce a score. Practitioners tend to use it in three ways:

Noting strengths during regular reviews.
Choosing one trait to develop over the next few weeks.
Opening conversations about values and behavior.

Nine positive traits, defined and observed

The table below defines nine traits that appear across character education and coaching resources. Each one is matched to the template prompt where you would record it. The definitions are practical summaries, not clinical definitions.

The third column describes what each trait looks like when you see it. Recording that behavior keeps your notes full of evidence instead of adjectives.

Trait	Plain definition	What you might observe	Where it goes on the template
Honesty	Tells the truth and presents facts accurately, including unwelcome ones.	Reports a mistake before anyone else finds it.	Effective verbal and written communication
Empathy	Understands how another person feels and responds with care.	Repeats a patient’s concern back before answering it.	Active listening and empathy
Assertiveness	States needs and ideas directly while respecting other people.	Raises a scheduling problem in the team meeting, with a suggested fix.	Clear and concise expression of ideas
Integrity	Acts on stated values, even when no one is checking.	Follows the consent process in full on a rushed day.	Integrity and ethical decision-making
Accountability	Owns their decisions and the results that follow.	Says “I missed that” and explains how they will prevent it next time.	Accountability and responsibility
Enthusiasm	Brings energy to work in a way that lifts other people.	Volunteers to show a new colleague the booking process.	Inspiring and motivating others
Open-mindedness	Weighs new evidence and other views before deciding.	Changes their plan after hearing a colleague’s reasons.	Open-mindedness to change
Resilience	Recovers from setbacks and keeps working toward the goal.	Rebuilds the day’s schedule after a run of cancellations, without complaint.	Flexibility in handling challenges
Curiosity	Seeks out new information and ways of working.	Asks to trial a new digital form before the rest of the team.	Embracing new technologies and methodologies

A longer list of good character traits

If the nine traits above don’t fit your setting, the VIA Classification gives you a fuller list to choose from. Here are its 24 strengths, grouped under the six virtues, with a plain definition of each.

Wisdom

Creativity: Finds new and useful ways to do things.
Curiosity: Takes an interest in new experiences and information.
Judgment: Thinks problems through from all sides before deciding.
Love of learning: Builds new skills and knowledge for their own sake.
Perspective: Gives sound advice and sees the bigger picture.

Courage

Bravery: Speaks up or acts despite fear or opposition.
Perseverance: Finishes what they start, even when progress is slow.
Honesty: Speaks the truth and presents themselves sincerely.
Zest: Approaches work and life with energy.

Humanity

Love: Values close relationships and invests in them.
Kindness: Does favors and helps others without being asked.
Social intelligence: Reads other people’s feelings and adjusts to them.

Justice

Teamwork: Does their share and works well as part of a group.
Fairness: Treats people equally and without personal bias.
Leadership: Organizes group work and keeps good relations within it.

Temperance

Forgiveness: Lets go of wrongs and gives people a second chance.
Humility: Lets their work speak for itself and admits limits.
Prudence: Plans carefully and avoids needless risk.
Self-regulation: Manages their emotions, impulses and habits.

Transcendence

Appreciation of beauty and excellence: Notices skill and quality in people and things.
Gratitude: Notices good things and thanks people for them.
Hope: Expects good outcomes and works to bring them about.
Humor: Brings lightness that helps other people relax.
Spirituality: Holds beliefs about meaning and purpose that guide their conduct.

Everyday traits that sit outside the VIA list

Many workplace and school lists add a handful of everyday traits that VIA folds into its broader strengths. These are worth recording too:

Reliability: Turns up on time and does what they said they would.
Patience: Stays calm when a task or a person takes longer than expected.
Respect: Treats other people’s time, views and boundaries as important.
Loyalty: Stands by colleagues and commitments through difficult periods.
Diligence: Takes care over detail and checks their own work.
Generosity: Shares time, credit and knowledge freely.

Negative traits to watch for

The template has no section for negative traits, and it doesn’t need one. If a concern comes up, record the behavior under the matching prompt and frame it as a development point.

These six patterns are the most useful to notice, because each one is the reverse of a strength on the list:

Dishonesty: Shades facts or leaves out details that would reflect badly on them.
Blaming others: Explains errors by pointing to colleagues or circumstances.
Rigidity: Resists a new process before trying it.
Dismissiveness: Interrupts, talks over people or ignores their concerns.
Impulsiveness: Acts or speaks before thinking through the effect.
Unreliability: Misses deadlines or commitments without warning.

Write the behavior, never the label. “Interrupted the patient twice during the consultation” can be discussed and changed. “Rude” can only be argued with.

Character traits vs personality traits

Character traits describe how someone chooses to act, and they are widely treated as qualities a person can develop. Personality traits describe broad, relatively stable tendencies in how someone thinks, feels and behaves.

Psychologists usually measure personality with standardized questionnaires, such as a Big Five personality test. The Big Five model covers openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. A character traits list works differently. It records observed behavior against chosen strengths, so it suits reflection and goal setting rather than measurement.

How to fill in the template

The PDF runs to two pages and moves in the order you would hold a review. Work through it like this:

Client details: Add the person’s name, their profession and the date. The date matters most, because it lets you compare one review with the next.
Introduction: Note why you are completing the list and in what setting. A coaching goal, a team review and a therapy session each call for different traits.
Communication skills: Use the three prompts on verbal and written communication, active listening and empathy, and clear expression. Record one observed example for each prompt you can evidence.
Leadership qualities: Cover integrity and ethical decision-making, accountability, and inspiring others. Leadership here means conduct, so it applies to people without a management role.
Adaptability: Note openness to change, flexibility with challenges and how the person takes to new technology or methods.
Interpretation: Summarize the pattern across all three categories. Name two clear strengths and one trait to build.
How to use: Agree what happens next. Write the one development goal, who will support it and the date of the next review.

Leave a prompt empty when you have no evidence for it. A blank box is more honest than a guess, and it shows you where to look next time.

The map below lays out the whole sheet in order, with the trait each prompt evidences from the definitions table.

Flow of the good character traits list: 1 client details, 2 introduction, then three categories of three prompts each. Communication skills prompts evidence honesty, empathy and assertiveness. Leadership qualities prompts evidence integrity, accountability and enthusiasm. Adaptability prompts evidence open-mindedness, resilience and curiosity. Then 6 interpretation and 7 how to use. — *Each prompt holds evidence for one trait, so a single dated example fills its box. Prompts come from the PDF, and the trait mapping is ours.*

Worked example of a completed entry

Here is how one section of the sheet might read for a fictional practice manager. Note that every entry describes something that happened, with enough detail to discuss.

Template section	Example entry
Client details	Alex (fictional), practice manager, reviewed on March 3.
Introduction	Quarterly development review. Alex asked to focus on leading the front desk team through a new booking system.
Communication skills	Rewrote the patient arrival instructions after three people missed the parking details. Asked the front desk which questions came up most before drafting.
Leadership qualities	Flagged their own billing error to the finance lead the same day and changed the checklist so it can’t recur.
Adaptability	Volunteered to pilot online forms for new patients. Collected staff feedback after week one and adjusted two questions.
Interpretation	Clear strengths in accountability and curiosity. Assertiveness is the trait to build, as Alex tends to defer in team meetings.
How to use	Alex will lead the next two team huddles. Review again on June 2 and compare entries.

Why record traits in writing

A written list turns vague impressions into specific notes. That consistency helps when more than one person reviews the same patient, student or team member.

Clearer notes: Entries describe what was observed, not a general impression.
Balanced reviews: Strengths and areas to build appear side by side.
Easier follow-up: A fixed set of prompts gives each review the same structure to compare against.

Character also matters at work. The competency model published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) lists ethical practice among its core behavioral competencies. That overlap explains why several traits on this list also show up in workplace reviews.

Pro Tip

Review the list alongside the person rather than filling it in alone. Ask them to choose two traits they already show and one they want to build. Record examples in their own words, and set a date to revisit the list. Repeat the review every few months so the notes show change across several sessions.

Who the list is for

Therapists, counselors and coaches are the main audience. A strengths-based record balances notes that otherwise focus on problems. Practices that run mental health EMR software can keep the list close to the records they already maintain.

Solo coaches often pair the list with a coaching client management system to keep goals and notes together. Clinicians who already use a psychiatric evaluation template can add this list as a reflection tool alongside it.

The Profession field makes the sheet a good fit for managers and HR teams as well. Teachers can adapt it too, but should check that the language suits their policies and students. For wider character education material, start with Character.org.

Common mistakes when recording traits

Writing adjectives instead of evidence: “Great communicator” tells the next reviewer nothing. Describe the moment that earned the comment.
Filling every prompt: Nine forced answers dilute the three that matter. Leave a box empty until you see the behavior.
Completing it about the person, not with them: A list written in private feels like a verdict. Fill it in together where you can.
Treating it as an assessment: The sheet has no scoring and no norms. Use a validated tool when you need a measurement.
Skipping the date: Without one, you can’t show change between reviews.
Drawing on one setting only: Someone may show patience with patients and none in team meetings. Note where each example came from.

How Pabau keeps completed trait lists in the patient record

On paper, a completed list ends up in a folder or a scanned PDF. By the next review, finding the last copy can take longer than the review itself.

Pabau, the therapy practice management software we build, lets you rebuild the template as a digital form. You can send it to a patient to complete before a session, or fill it in together on screen. Each completed copy saves to their record with the date attached.

At the next review, the previous lists sit in the same record, so you can compare entries side by side without searching. Pabau Scribe, our AI scribe, can also draft session notes, leaving you free to focus on the conversation.

Keep every trait review in one record

Send the character traits list as a digital form and store each completed copy in the patient record. Compare reviews over time without digging through paper files.

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Conclusion

A character traits list is only as useful as its evidence. Nine honest entries with dates will tell you more over a year than a page of glowing adjectives.

Start small. Pick the two or three prompts that matter for your setting, record what you see, and agree one trait to build. The value shows up at the second and third review, when you can point to change instead of describing a feeling.

Book a demo to see how Pabau sends, stores and compares completed trait lists for therapy and coaching practices.

Need a scored measure instead of free-text notes? Character strengths assessment gives you a free template with a scoring guide.

Looking for more strengths to choose from? Strengths list for therapists offers a ready list to draw on in sessions.

Want patients to name their own strengths? My strengths and qualities worksheet gives them a structured way to do it in therapy.

Connecting traits to what someone cares about? Personal values list helps you link observed behavior to personal values.

Comparing character with personality? Big Five personality test explains the model behind most personality questionnaires.

Frequently asked questions

What are good character traits?

Good character traits are positive, consistent patterns of behavior, such as honesty, kindness, fairness and perseverance. The VIA Classification groups 24 of them under six virtues: Wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence.

What are 10 examples of good character traits?

Ten commonly listed examples are honesty, integrity, empathy, kindness, accountability, perseverance, fairness, gratitude, humility and self-control. No official ranking exists, so choose the traits that matter in your setting.

How many character strengths are there?

The VIA Classification, published by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman in 2004, lists 24 character strengths. They sit under six broad virtues that appear across cultures and traditions.

What is the difference between character and personality?

Character describes how someone chooses to act, and it is widely treated as something a person can develop. Personality describes broad, relatively stable tendencies, usually measured with questionnaires such as Big Five inventories.

Does the PDF include trait definitions or negative traits?

No. The PDF is a blank fill-in sheet with client details, an introduction, nine prompts across three categories, and interpretation and how-to-use sections. Use the tables in this article for definitions.

How often should you review a character traits list?

Every three months suits most coaching and therapy relationships. Date each completed copy, so you can compare entries and show whether the chosen trait has developed.

Can character traits be improved?

Yes, character strengths are generally treated as capacities that grow with practice. Pick one trait, agree a small weekly behavior that shows it, and record examples at each review.