Without courage a leader is limited.
To lead with heart and backbone, you need courage. Without courage, a leader is limited. Courage to show up, step in, and stand up for a cause or a vision. For this reason, leadership is not for the faint of heart. A leader needs courage to look ahead and see what’s coming, even if it’s difficult. A leader needs courage to advocate for a cause or differences. But most of all, a leader needs courage to take risks—to take a chance on options that others may not have had the courage to do. This kind of courage is what sets great leaders apart from mediocre leaders.
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Sandra McDowell, MA, PCC
website: http://www.sandramcdowell.com
Author Sandra McDowell is a Certified Executive Coach with a Masters in Leadership and a Certificate in NeuroLeadership, and Vice-President Communications & Culture for First Credit Union & Insurance.
One Response to “Without courage a leader is limited.”
Thank you for this post on Courage. It reminded me of an article I read Power to Change: A conversation with Bernard M. Bass. Bass was asked if he could give one piece of advice to leaders in organizations today? Bass indicated that leaders need to recognize their responsibility and not shirk their authority to move their followers and to articulate for their followers rules that are of mutual interest. It takes courage and a willingness to stick your neck out and take the unpopular position from time to time. And courage is one of the elements of a transformational leader. He goes on to ask the question… How do you distinguish between courage and being foolhardy?