On Courage

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than one’s fear." - Ambrose Redmoon

“I’ve worked with hundreds of bright and well-educated leaders in fifty industries and on every continent. Most are good people who are honorable in their private lives. But when they face the great river that cuts across all organizations, they remain on the safe near bank. On this bank, most business is done with reason and general fairness.

On the far bank live our crises, bad hires, weak ethics, questionable acts, misreporting, anger, jealousy, regrets, and character-challenged managers. This is the stuff that demands dynamic and courageous leadership. Facing us is the River of Fear, made deep and wide by our hesitations, timidity, doubts and paralysis.

How many fine and experienced execs boldly cross the river to challenge wrong behaviors and take risks for principles and for others? Not many. This is a crossable boundary, but most of us won’t try it.

What do we know about the few who courageously do? They demand excellent conduct of others because they first require it of themselves. Their courage inspires prodigious results. This allows these classic leaders to find work and life balance, to love their families and to enjoy private lives. They tend to be happier and more content.

That’s why Churchill, as Great Britain faced a grand moral and national crisis, deemed courage “the first of all human qualities.” Aristotle said that courageous virtue is the essence of not just happiness but life itself.”

Taken from the Introduction to Courage the backbone of leadership, by Gus Lee