Leadership is Courageous
It is curious that physical courage should be so common in
the world and moral courage so rare.Mark Twain (1835–1910).
American writer, publisher, entrepreneur, humourist, and lecturer.
Being courageous in leadership is as oxidation is to fire—necessary and essential.
Who of us would give credibility to a news headline that read:
The junior staff member showed great timidity in reporting the CEO’s…
The whistleblower demonstrated enormous fearfulness …
The cowardly politician resigned from her party to protest poor service…
The faint-hearted team captain snatched victory from the jaws of defeat…
These might draw our attention, but only because they are patently inconsistent.
Being courageous—physically and morally—is rare, uncommon and exceptional. When it raises its head, we recognise it and applaud it. However, when the opportunity comes our way, we mostly slink away.
I aver that the leadership gap is pervasive because courage is scarce (as is the case for all eight influential leadership behavioural attributes).
What is being courageous in our influential leadership context?
We could wade through dictionary definitions, but I have yet to find any that do it justice, especially in the domain of moral courage.
It is also this kind of courageous, the moral kind, that I focus on in our eighth Leadership Weekly Note on behavioural attributes.
The reason we focus on moral courage is because it is the most elusive and uncommon type, yet more powerful than physical courage in its leverage to shape events and lives.
In so many instances in our lived lives—schools, teams, politics, business, belief systems, and even social media platforms—we lament not the lack of courage to have a fistfight or throw barbs at each other but moral courage.
A clear explanation of moral courage is provided by Vicki Lachman in her article Strategies Necessary for Moral Courage (2010).[i]
Moral courage is the willingness to speak out and do that which is right in the face of forces that would lead a person to act in some other way.
Being courageous in an influential leadership sense is so much more than physical bravery, although at times it may require behaviour that risks physical injury and pain.
The courageousness demanded of influential leaders in the 21st century is arguably more agonising than physical injury or death. In our contemporary connected world social estrangement, cutting someone off from social recognition and worthiness is like death from a thousand cuts. A person who stands up for something other than the prevailing discourse, or against an unproductive embedded practice, stands out and is thus at great risk of being socially punished and pressurised into silence. Livelihoods and careers are at stake, and families and colleagues are imperilled. Losing the opportunity to be a prefect at school, or having a career cut short in a workspace, have both social and economic impacts.
It is one thing to have principles, it is another to be principled. Those who have productive principles and practice them are courageous. Being courageous is appreciating the rewards and costs, whatever they are, and yet still doing what one’s philosophy and principles require.
The powerline is: Be courageous DESPITE the fear!
Anyone who chooses to go first knows that there are risks, both known and unknown. We know there will be falling and setbacks, we know that there will be naysayers and those with vested interests that oppose us, and sometimes there will be those who will put an end to us physically if enough is at stake. We know that pushing the boundaries requires great effort and sacrifice, often for little immediate social or economic reward. However, in the longer term, it is courageous people who shift and shape the world to be better.
There are no courageous people until we are!
When you face your leadership moments this week, wherever you are—starting at home, heading to work, study, play—be courageous. The way to be so is the influential leadership way!
Have a successful leadership week.
Regards,
Colin @ Karoo
Leadership is COURAGEOUS!
[i] https://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Resources/Courage-and-Distress/Strategies-and-Moral-Courage.html Lachman, V.D., (Sept 30, 2010) “Strategies Necessary for Moral Courage” OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 15, No. 3, Manuscript 3. 10.3912/OJIN.Vol15No03Man03. Dr. Lachman is an Associate Clinical Professor in Nursing at Drexel University where she teaches ethics to master’s and doctoral students. Accessed on 8 December 2021.
