Marks Of A Courageous Leader

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

"In business and personal life, to create true integrity and lasting effectiveness you need to develop the courage to move towards the sound of the gunfire." - Dr. Martin Groder

Some thoughts on how effective leaders exhibit Courage:

1) Courageous Leaders are continually on the lookout for great ideas, not consensus. This takes courage because it is easy to get a unanimous vote to do nothing. The true test of leadership is to get the full support of your team, even when you don’t have their unanimous vote.

2) Courageous Leaders are trailblazers. They are experimenters. They stick their necks out, and therefore inevitably make a fair amount of mistakes. Yet Great leaders have the courage to take action when others hesitate.

3) Courageous Leaders patiently accept criticism. Criticism is often the price to pay for being successful. If you do not have critics, you are probably not having much success.

4) Effective Leaders have the courage to surround themselves with other leaders. Many "leaders" are content to surround themselves with followers. Truly effective leaders choose to surround themselves with other leaders - which not only lightens their burden, but enlarges their capacity and vision.

5) Courageous Leaders get over their fears. Few people step-up to leadership without being a little fearful. This is normal, for we are by nature afraid of looking silly, of people not responding to our leadership, or of casting an incomplete vision for our organization. Some individuals are never able to get over this fear, and thus prefer the safer role of a “manager.”

6) Courageous Leaders embrace risk. A person who refuses to risk change, fails to grow. The leader who prefers their comfort zone soon becomes a follower.

7) Courageous Leaders have the courage to stand up for their ideas and their ideals. Standing up for what you believe in will many times put you in conflict with others. Courageous Leaders have the personal courage to to go where others fear to tread, to face adversity, to protect subordinates from unfairness, and to stand up for values and principles when necessary.

** I personally believe the most critical component of personal (and organizational) success is Courage - in combination with a honorable and firmly held belief/vision. Without courage, success is not possible, leadership will not exist, and personal satisfaction will be hindered.