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In Practice

Cultivate Courage in Uncertain Times

Sandra Ford Walston

There is a strong correlation between courageous leadership and organizational success. Luckily, everyone can learn to practice courage at work regardless of career or position.

Based on 13 years of research on the subject, there are six main components of work-related courage.

1. Clarity: Most people do not have a clue about their inner calling. Think about a time and an issue that excited and animated you. There is a good chance that you have experienced this positive energy at some point in your life. Perhaps you have all but forgotten this experience, but if you look closer, you might see that it revealed your inner essence.

Define what is vital in your life and escalate your success at work. One moment of courageous clarity can work miracles in organizational effectiveness and career advancement.

2. Consistency: Reflect on a facet of work that causes tension in your life. As you examine the situation, begin to notice your “default” courage settings. For example, you might discover you often change your mind. Then, suspend assumptions, detach from opinions and certainty about what you think is true, and take responsibility for your “courage consciousness” development. This also lifts the spirit of your work environment. Courageous people are able to execute this process by stopping to reflect. Do you consistently practice any form of meditation?

3. Controversy: At times, you may have to appropriately challenge the people you wish to influence. You do this by standing firm in your convictions and questioning the situation. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Regardless of the cost, do you stand steadfast to demonstrate your talents and stand up for what you know to be right? Courageously forthright action does not mean bravado. Courage initiates decisive action and accepts nothing less.

4. Commitment: When you manage how you learn, you also manage your workplace persona, an important key to developing workplace courage. In other words, when you are centered in your courage consciousness, your workplace persona provides an honest reflection of your inner being.

Success is about developing your own identity, your true self, so that you feel fulfilled and happy in each moment. Self-doubt is an obstacle to courage that ultimately undermines success. According to an ancient Chinese proverb: “He who hesitates before each step spends his life on one leg.”

5. Confessing: Do you confess your shortcomings and missteps? For example, if you lack knowledge about a topic, do you respond in a deceptive manner that keeps your ego intact? The honest response would be to confess your vulnerability by admitting that you do not know the answer.

Confessing is good for the spirit when done in a timely manner and with positive intent. The process helps us face the truth. We take responsibility for what is happening with our spirit and address those missteps that collect unhealthy energy. Yes, we invite potential trouble when we confess our shortcomings, but more importantly, we hold ourselves accountable and establish our integrity.

6. Candor: Straight talk gets attention because it is uncomfortable for most people. Speaking with courage means learning to speak with your own voice. Only by learning to express ourselves from our own “courageous identities” can we begin to employ the courage that moves us beyond ambiguity.

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