Courage and the Ingredients of Leadership

I was asked a question by a business leader recently – ‘How do we make our leaders more effective?’ The struggle to come up with something concrete was real.

Look around you – The leaders in your organization are younger than they ever were; they are more impatient than they ever were; & they are more challenged than they ever were. To add to this complexity, some of the matrix business structures we operate in make leadership all the more complicated. It takes away authority - the one element of influencing that used to make them ‘feel’ like a ‘leader’.

To understand this better, I believe it is important to understand the alchemy of leadership. Measurable leadership is demonstrated through three elements:

• Decision Making – Bold yet Logic driven
• Risk Taking – Brave yet Calculated
• Character – Self-assured yet Reflective

This should come fairly naturally to a seasoned leader. But to a new leader or an aspiring leader this often becomes overwhelming. So where does one start? The one leadership characteristic that I believe is the foundation to all of this is ‘Courage’. Aristotle put it well almost 2500 years and it still holds true – “Courage is the first of human virtues because it is the quality that guarantees others!”

The good news - courage is not inherent. It can be learnt, It can be imbibed and It can be practiced. The bad news - not many people understand it completely. I look at courage through these lenses.

i)  Courage of Action – Feeling fear yet choosing to act. Persevering in the face of adversity.

ii) Courage of Voice - Standing up for what is right. Sharing unpopular opinon.

iii) Courage of Confidence – Expanding your horizons. Letting go of the need to control outcomes. Being open to direction.

So back to the top……The answer to my business leader – We make leaders more effective by putting courage in them – encouraging them. With less fear and more courage, I am sure they’ll do wonders!