In our current blog series, we’re discussing the seven characteristics of trusted leadership. The first two blogs covered honesty and social intelligence, which paved the way for our third characteristic—courage.

Courage is the nucleus of our decision-making, actions, words, and beliefs. The Latin root of courage means “heart,” which is the home of our deepest feelings and inner strengths. Without it, we fail to live up to what we know is right. But when we align with courage and our hearts, we are true to ourselves.

When I reflect on courage, I recall the words of Maya Angelou, who said, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because, without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”

In line with the other characteristics of trusted leadership, courage starts with you. It begins with an honest self-inventory and by practicing self-compassion and focus. Genuine self-reflection requires courage and compassion because looking at our shortcomings is challenging. Yet, when we reflect on our struggles and take accountability if we miss the mark, we can learn from our mistakes and improve.

A young leader recently told me he tends to tiptoe around problems. He said, “Sometimes I’m too accommodating. I might see an employee not performing up to our standards, but I look the other way.” When I asked what stopped him from addressing a problem, he said, “I hate to admit this, but I’m afraid that if I’m assertive, people won’t like me.” His voice dropped when he added, “Just saying that gives me a knot in my stomach. I guess that means this is something I must deal with.” That leader dared to face their dilemma, talk about it, reflect on why it was challenging, and develop a plan to become more direct and effective even when it risked being disliked. 

Leaders have to make difficult choices every day. They have to carve a path that may be unpopular. They have to inspire people to achieve more than they realized they could accomplish. They need to face conflicts head-on. They must create the future, go into the unknown, seize opportunities, lead difficult conversations, move the organization forward, collaborate, and inspire others to follow them. They can’t do that without courage. But being courageous is not always easy.

Each time we do the right thing and let our courage lead the way, we become stronger, more balanced, and more precise about ourselves and our goals. We become leaders our colleagues want to follow. 

“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” 

― William Faulkner