4 Ways to Lead with Courage Today
Skills are a car without gas. Courage to act is gas.
Imagine you learn how to make the best possible decisions. Apart from courage you’re still stuck.
Winston Churchill said, “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because, as has been said, it is the quality which guarantees all others.”
4 ways to lead with courage:
#1. Stand up for something that matters.
“Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
It takes courage to:
- Stand up for people on your team.
- Build a future different from today.
- Challenge yourself to contribute to others.
- Let yourself be seen.
- Declare what makes you afraid.
12 Courageous Acts of Leadership with insights from Simone Sinek and Malcome Gladwell.
#2. Know why you’re here.
Purpose is fuel for courage. Give yourself to something that matters.
You find yourself when you give yourself.
Sometimes you give yourself and come up empty, but when you give yourself to something that matters, you feel fulfilled.
You don’t find yourself in isolation. You find yourself in contribution.
- Artists give themselves to art.
- Parents give themselves to their children.
- Leaders give themselves to a future ideal. It might be a vision, the team, a challenging goal.
#3. Engage, don’t withdraw.
Fear wins when you withdraw. Courage gets dirty.
Quiet reflection serves you, but isolation is detrimental for your health, mind, relationships, and contribution.
Meaningful leadership and isolation are mutually exclusive.
#4. Know what you want today.
Purpose is lived in small moments every day, not giant leaps.
Know purpose before you:
- Have tough conversations.
- Make change.
- Reject the present.
- Lead.
Courage is where leadership begins and ends.
How do people become courageous leaders?
Still curious:
How to Find the Courage to Lead
7 Ways to Feel More Courageous
Oh, how I wish these ideas would be embraced by leaders throughout our culture. The lack of moral courage (as opposed to physical courage or bravery) is so obvious and so prevalent today. The need for moral courage has been noted by leaders across the decades, yet the dearth of courageous leaders continues. Thanks for outlining these ideas in a concise format.
Thanks Jim. In a world where short-term wins rule the day, we sacrifice noble aspiration. It takes courage to build medium and long-term advantage.
Very apropos on this 79th anniversary of D-Day
Wonderful connection, David. Thanks for making it.
So much truth here. Stepping out from the protection of tribalism seems to be a rare quality in these times.
Thanks Ken. So true! Peer pressure isn’t just something teens feel.
How do people become courageous leaders?
Start by taking small steps. When you disagree, say you disagree and explain why.
Thanks Paul. The need to make big steps is one reason we lack the courage to take action. Find the easiest way to do something courageous.
Most management/leadership decisions aren’t made on such high and rarified matters as courage, ethics or morals. it’s about the company line and the bottom line.
Thanks Mitch. We go wrong when ambition and action neglect noble aspiration. We must acknowledge the pressure to produce results causes management/leadership to forget bigger objectives.
It takes courage to navigate short-term and long-term results. The pressure gets even higher with public companies.