Leaders Must Spread Courage, Not Crush It

The CEO of a large industrial company couldn’t make sense of it. His business was losing market share in a high-growth region. He sought an explanation.

Turned out his regional VP, who’d been charged with rolling out a major change initiative designed to reallocate authority and resources to employees closest to the market, had done the exact opposite. Instead of making people feel empowered, he'd punished candor, rewarded compliance, and insisted on signing off on every communication back to HQ in the US. Control was his modus operandi. Fear was his tool.

Similar stories are all too familiar.

In conversations with senior leaders, many talk about the need for employees to take more risks, be more agile, and innovate faster. “Be courageous,” they say—and for good reason. Research finds that when the value of courage is present in a culture, employees not only feel more engaged but perform better. When they have no reason to hesitate before challenging an old idea or exploring a new one, it incubates innovation and accelerates the learning vital for building edge.

Where courage takes the brakes off innovation and agility, fear does the exact opposite.

Yet far too often, instead of instilling courage into their people and culture, leaders crush it. They shut down conflict (or take it offline too fast). They second-guess their subordinate's decisions. They marginalize those who don’t fall in line behind them. In the process, they ratchet up fear, drive blind compliance, and dampen the very enthusiasm and ingenuity that’s most needed.

People play safe unless they feel safe to do otherwise.

The truth is that emotions drive behavior more than logic. And fear is the dominant human emotion. As such, we are wired to play it safe unless we feel secure enough - in ourselves and our work environment - to do otherwise.

Transforming a fear-based culture begins with the leaders in charge. However, everyone has a role to play in fostering the psychological safety in their team and workplace that's required to unlock the potential that fear holds dormant.

So no matter what your position, you have the opportunity every day to embolden people around you to be braver. And as you, you grow your own capacity for courage and your impact and authority as a leader.

Here are a few ways you can do just that!

When people feel insecure, they take counsel from their fears, turning forecasts into 'fearcasts.'

Start with yourself... get comfortable being uncomfortable

You cannot lead from your comfort zone. Only when you are willing to embrace your own vulnerability can you create an environment of shared vulnerability, a hallmark of psychological safety. Example is everything. But let's be clear: embracing discomfort and role-modeling courage isn't a one-off exercise, it's a daily endeavor.

Pat, a leader of a large division of a prominent retailer that’s forging new ground in e-commerce, shared with me how he strives to role model?trying?to get it right versus?being?right. “Trying to find the answers to really complex problems is riddled with ambiguity,” he told me. “But unless I’m willing to dive into the messy middle—an inherently uncomfortable process—how can I expect it of anyone else?”

Draw out diversity... foster high intellectual friction and low social friction

The best decisions are not make from homogeneity of thought. Rather they are made when there is high intellectual friction and low social friction. When you actively draw out diverse opinions (particularly from the less vocal) and acknowledge the value they hold, even if you don't agree with them, you help to normalize candor - fostering high intellectual friction.

Respond well to bad news

Likewise, when you respond well to bad news or opinions you disagree with, you lower social friction. On the flip side, when leaders over index on the consequences of messing up or challenging the consensus, they enlarge the holes in people's psychological safety net.

Nothing worthwhile is achieved with a guarantee of success. So when brave action doesn’t always land big results, embrace the maxim, “Never let a failure go to waste.” First by rewarding the 'pioneers' who had the courage to venture onto new ground. Second, by celebrating the learning and scaling it across the enterprise.

Never underestimate the hidden tax of over-caution

Having worked with thousands of leaders I've come to believe strongly that any leader who has is insecure in themselves will, under stress, default to operating from fear. It's why I also believe that personal development lays at the heart of good leadership development.

Any leader who operates from insecurity and fear will inadvertently drive excess risk aversion in their team which exacts an invisible 'timidity tax'.

That’s ultimately what our CEO came to realize. Commercial value had been lost and human potential squandered as people hungry to add value were disempowered and undervalued. His regional VP was “invited” to take early retirement. The lesson: when insecure leaders make decisions solely from fear, it ultimately makes organizations less secure also.

If ever there was a need for more courage in leaders, it is now. It's why great leaders start by looking within themselves, making their mission to 'do good' greater than their fear of 'looking bad'. Only then can leaders show up in ways that embolden everyone around them to act with the courage needed to create a better, brighter, future.

This article is adapted from Korn Ferry's Briefing Magazine .

Dr Margie Warrell is a Senior Partner in Korn Ferry's Board and CEO Succession practice. A bestselling author and keynote speaker, Margie emboldens leaders and organizations to be more courageous and unlock their true potential.