What if someone told you a Hamas attack was brewing, with enough time to act and prevent the massacre? Would you have courage to listen?

Of course, you say, “Yes,” when we pose the question with perfect 20/20 hindsight. Who wouldn't? But the reality is far less clear. And it may well be happening right under your nose, in your own enterprise, on your watch, when some underlings see what's happening and try to get your attention.

That’s where courage comes in. Not the chutzpah, macho or macha, get-with-it or get-out-of-my way version of courage. But the courage to listen.?Even when the warnings you get aren't what the politicians or investors want to hear.

The intelligence failure that led to the 07th October wasn’t a big conspiracy. It was the same frustration that women face day after day in almost every boardroom where evidence is weighed and enterprise-vital decisions are taken.

Female soldiers with low hegemony saw what was happening on their watch. They double-checked what they were seeing. They documented it carefully and sent their warnings up the chain of command. First gently and then with more urgency. Instead of being valued for taking initiative and doing their jobs, macho superiors threatened the women to stop wasting their time and get back to work. Not just once. Or twice. But repeated times. And not just one woman. But dozens, including a veteran female intelligence officer, who sent the evidence through the proper channels to a Colonial who refused to listen, weeks before the attacks. Then days before. Then hours in the early dawn. Until the final moments, when sisters in arms, standing watch and sounding alarms, were abducted or murdered.

In most of our posts, as proud Israelis, we honour the valour and resilience of our brothers and sisters in arms in Israel - and the leaders who keep the country going at a time of unprecedented attack. We still do. But we can do better. If we encourage more. If we value initiative. If we mentor smart young women with initiative to make their case better, rather than ridicule them for using the wrong format, the wrong voice tone, or speaking with an accent. And if we make courage contagious, not just use courage to silence what we don't want to hear.

We share this news analysis with you not just as social commentary to get a pet peeve off our chests (even though almost every woman, like me, can tell us it is a pet peeve because it's a daily reality). We share because it’s quite likely you, as a leader, can do better too. With the courage to listen. And with the courage to mentor, develop and invest in high-potential leaders in your team, so they can do better too in capturing and holding your attention, especially when they see threats, or opportunities to be a hero, that you should take more seriously.

Dr Louise Yochee Klein is a business psychologist and co-author of the book, #MakeCourageContagious. Her firm, Courage Growth Partners , shows business leaders how to profit through turbulence if they encourage, PowerUP and create forums for high-potentials in their enterprises to make their voices heard. If it's time to learn from disasters like this, rather than see the case studies and think "it can't happen here, on my watch," Dr Louise Yochee Klein and her partner, Dr Merom Klein invite you to see what courage can do for your high-potential leaders. And the teams they rely on to say something when they see something.