Cultivating Courage

One of the words raised most often in association with great leaders is Courage, with some recent examples being 

• "In uncertain times, employees are prone to looser ethics and mental paralysis. It takes courage to overcome these tendencies and guide the company through rough waters" (Courage in The Workplace, Chief Learning Officer Magazine)
• "Ultimately its all about courage. Are your prepared to stick it out" (How I did it - The CEO of Heinz on Powering Growth in Emerging Markets, Harvard Business Review)
• "All leaders need courage. It is the lynchpin of effective leadership" (Courage in Leadership, Ivey Business Journal)
• "(Lief) Johansson is hardly the only higher-ambition CEO we interviewed who talked about courage. These leaders are taking their organisations on multi year journeys through demanding territory. To navigate the difficult, often unforeseen challenges along the way they need grit, persistence and focus - qualities we believe are best captured by the Finnish word sisu. Nokia's Jorma Ollila, a Finn, refers to sisu as 'guts'". (The Higher Ambition Leader, Harvard Business Review)
• "The list of characteristics that comprise great leadership is so long and contradictory, that the aspiring leader is left to ask, 'Where on earth do I start?'. Fortunately, there is a clear starting point. One leadership characteristic - or more accurately virtue - informs and strengthens all others: Courage" (Courage is the Key to Great Leadership, Entrepreneurs Organisation)
• "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drwon out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition" (Steve Jobs' Stanford Commencement Address 2005) 

If Courage is the 'what', the question then becomes 'how' does one enable this quality in existing and prospective leaders, and in answering this the starting point we often use is the 4 Cores of Credibility from FranklinCovey's work on the Speed of Trust. The definition offered for these 4 Cores (Integrity, Intent, Capabilities and Results), in addition to the support tools and assessments that accompany them, allow those in leadership positions (and those responsible for developing those in leadership positions) to consider how these characteristics feature in recruitment, development, reward and promotion situations and how, when present, they create the inner strength which allows people to do the right thing - especially when it's hard to do so.