Courage Intelligence - Leadership Success in 2023

You may often hear people refer to someone as “a natural born leader” or “she’s or he’s the only one with the guts to lead.” However, I believe that true and courageous leaders aren’t born, they are made and created through real-life experiences, learning curves and being taught or mentored by other great, respected, and courageous leaders. So, what are courageous leaders? Some of the best leaders of the past and present define a courageous leader as the below.

• “Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised.” – Walt Disney
• “I don’t go by the rule book. I lead from the heart, not the head.” – Princess Diana, Princess of Wales
• “Leadership is hard to define, and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.” – Indra Nooyi (Former CEO, PepsiCo)
• “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” – Rosalynn Carter (Former First Lady of the United States)
• “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. … In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
• “Courage is being scared to death – but saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne
• “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs
• “Successful leaders have the courage to take action while others hesitate.” – John Maxwell

As we move forwards towards a post-pandemic future, and with 2023 now here, more of our businesses and organisations are seeing the benefits of nurturing courageous, strong, and capable leaders. In fact, it’s become a top priority for many. Businesses and organisations across Australia, and the world, are now truly recognising that if you have a courageous and strong leader at the forefront of your organisation, you will reap the benefits including improved financial performance and higher employee attraction and retention. It is very clear to me, and many others, that we need future leaders and generations who will lead with courage.

How do we define courage? The official definition of courage means “The ability to do something that frightens. Bravery and strength in the face of pain or grief.”

As I mentioned at the top of this article, I believe that like any other leadership skills, courage is something that is refined over time and a skill that can only be learned by those willing to learn and better themselves. If you’re a leader, you may be reading this article and wondering if you possess the qualities needed to be a leader who leads with courage, or if your team or employees see you as a leader who is courageous and kind. The good news is you have taken the first step towards being a courageous leader.

Many leaders are embracing change, adapting to it and are now wanting to learn how to build themselves up as a courageous leader and take themselves forward to new directions of success, that will have a lasting impact on them, their team and the organisation as a whole.

Becoming a courageous leader is not something that happens overnight, it’s a gradual and ongoing process (that’s not without its rewards), because even as courageous leaders we can keep learning and improving ourselves. Even the greatest leaders continue to work on themselves and are focused on becoming better people and leaders every day.

This is why we came up with the?Courage Intelligence (CQ) Model , Framework and Program, which also forms part of LeadershipHQ’s executive, emerging leaders, coaching and women in leadership programs. Because we wanted to transform the way everyone thinks about courage within leadership, and build skills as a courageous leader. To build, transform and inspire great leadership, teams, and companies across the globe.

Download our FREE Whitepaper HERE!

As human beings we have intelligence and courage. Provided we use these qualities, we will be able to achieve what we set out to do.

As human beings we have intelligence and courage. Provided we use these qualities, we will be able to achieve what we set out to do.?–?Dalai Lama

Deep Blue, the first computer that was able to beat a Grand Master at the game of Chess. But is it intelligent?

What does that mean?

To me, it reminds us that we are able to do whatever we set out to do, that we can achieve anything in which we believe.?Humans do it through courage and intelligence.

Courage, to face our fears, our opponents and the inevitable hardships associated with doing anything worth doing.?Intelligence, to learn from our mistakes, to learn from the mistakes of others, to anticipate possible outcomes and to have plans ready for them.?We are, at our best, unstoppable.

Why are both?intelligence and courage?important?

Intelligence without courage, let’s think about that for a moment, shall we??You could be the brightest person on the planet, be so smart as to know almost everything, so capable at planning that no possibility escapes your preparation.?But what good is it if you don’t have the courage to move forward with the plans, to act on your knowledge, do to something in the real world? Read more here ...

5 Characteristics of Courageous Leaders

Nurturing strong and capable leaders is a top priority for organizations today. Research by the?Center for Creative Leadership ?shows that firms committed to cultivating leadership talent experience:

• Improved financial performance
• Success in navigating organizational change
• Higher employee attraction and retention rates
• A greater ability to drive strategic execution

While there is a range of workplace competencies that characterize?effective leadership , such as knowing?how to give feedback ?and?communicate organizational change , there are also key emotional traits and behaviors that professionals need to access and nurture in order to bring out the best in themselves and others. Among those traits is courage.

“A courageous leader is an individual who's capable of making themselves better and stronger when the stakes are high and circumstances turn against that person,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nancy Koehn, who writes legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton. “Most of our lives, we’re beset by crises. Courageous leaders are not cowed or intimidated. They realize that, in the midst of turbulence, there lies an extraordinary opportunity to grow and rise.”

If you want to guide your team with conviction and transform business challenges into opportunities for positive change, here are five characteristics of courageous leaders you should develop to unleash your potential and advance your career.

Read more here.

Nominations for the 2023 Leadership Awards NOW OPEN!

What Courageous Leaders Do Differently

by?James R. Detert

Fred Keller , the founder of Cascade Engineering, wanted to show that a for-profit business could also help address society’s social ills. So he accepted an employee’s suggestion that they hire unemployed locals. They rented a van, went to a low-income area of Grand Rapids, Michigan and — with the eight men they identified — started Cascade’s welfare-to-career program.

Their first attempt failed completely. Not one of the people hired remained after a few weeks: the men they hired weren’t prepared or equipped for the requirements of regular work, and Cascade wasn’t prepared to help them succeed. “We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” recalls one of the managers involved, so they resorted to “tough love” that just didn’t work.

For most leaders, this inauspicious beginning would likely have also been the end. It seemed to confirm the common sentiment that helping people get out of intergenerational poverty isn’t a role business can or should try to play. But not to Keller. For him, the initial outcome was simply data — the first attempt hadn’t worked, so clearly there were things to learn before taking another step.

Read more here.

About LeadershipHQ

We are a leadership development and performance organisation. We encourage leaders to realise their full potential, discover their calling, and make a real difference in the world.?With us, you’ll find a truly invested team that offers genuine care and support while telling it like it is. We are deeply committed to the success of our clients.?You won’t have to deal with the egos of large consulting firms – your success and progression are everything to us. In our work, everyone feels safe and inspired.?

We do everything –

• Cultural Development
• Leadership Development
• Executive Coaching
• Online Leadership Solutions
• Team Alignment and Building
• Safety Leadership
• 360 Degree Leadership Assessments
• Project and Bid Team Development
• Survey Design and Reporting

About the Author – Sonia McDonald

Sonia is founder of Leadership HQ and is also a renowned and award-winning author, having written several of her own books, Leadership Attitude, Just Rock It! and First Comes Courage as well as being a regular contributor in The Australian, HRD Magazine, Smart Healthy Women and Women’s Business Media. She was named as one of the Top 250 Influential Women in the world as well as Top 100 Australian Entrepreneurs by Richtopia.

Through her leadership advisory and coaching work at LeadershipHQ, and founding the Outstanding Leadership Awards, Sonia is internationally recognised as an expert in leadership and culture, organisational development, neuroscience, kindness, and courage.?

Sonia is also a full-time single parent and has a passion for women in business and teenage mental health. Sonia travels and speaks across Australia and Globe, and she is on a mission to building a world of great leaders and leadership.