Why do we need courage

That is courage. But knowing now that courage is the most important virtue of all, why would you ever want to play it safe? This is one of the big questions that lie at the heart of courage.

But learning how to say no is at the core of doing more Great Work. It takes courage to turn a person down and face the upset and resistance you may cause by doing so. But guess what? Courage works like a muscle — it grows stronger with use. Knowing when to say no is what helps your Great Work take shape. Focus and strategy are all about saying no to the good things you want to say yes to.

Saying no to this means you can say yes to that. Making a choice is an act of courage in itself because it involves saying no to someone. Take a look around you. Where could you push the boundaries? How might you do more Great Work? What should you change? Being courageous means looking at what appears to be calm and challenging it. It means disrupting the composed and comfortable by being truthful and vulnerable.

Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it. Courage also helps us to act against those who threaten, or who act in a bad way. The Western world has traditionally revered bravery for itself; success is not necessary if courage is shown. The celebration of bravery as an end in itself is seen in the celebration in the UK of Robert Falcon Scott, a man who not only failed in his mission to get to the South Pole first, but died on the way back, along with three of his team.

Spectacular failure, but unmistakeable courage: he and they knew the risks, yet chose to go ahead with their expedition anyway. Looking after your physical and mental health is important.

It is, however, not enough. Based on some of our most popular content, this eBook will help you to live that life. Fear and overconfidence are generally viewed as undesirable emotions. They make us feel bad, either at the time or afterwards. Being afraid tells you when you are concerned that you may not survive something.

However, as our page on Managing Emotions points out, your emotional response may not be rational. It is almost certainly linked to memory, perhaps a past experience, or something you may have read.

Courage gives us the strength to evaluate an emotional response fear and act rationally and rightly. Confidence gives us the power to act on our convictions, have faith in ourselves or in others, and take action. Over-confidence however, means that we may be too ready to take action, and take unnecessary risks. Confidence feels good, and so does over-confidence.

To help to identify and overcome over-confidence, questions to ask yourself include:. Answering these questions rationally, and not with bravado, will help you to evaluate whether you are feeling rightly confident, or over-confident. While some conversations may be hard to have, leaders often risk worse results by not having them. Humans are often guided by emotions as much as reason, if not more, and emotions play a large role in how workplaces operate.

Brown says that not addressing the emotional side of a workplace, such as fears caused by change, can lead to needless losses in productivity and cost more to address later on. A courageous leader should not be afraid to tackle what can be tricky issues head-on. Related to tough conversations, Brown places this item near the top of the list in terms of difficulty. Failing is a necessary part of process in innovative cultures, but it might not feel that way to those involved.

Brown suggests that dealing with failure should be modelled by leaders. Industry often expects employees to bounce back, to be resilient, but leaders need to recognise that this can be difficult and to provide employees with the skills to be resilient enough to move forward and innovate. We all expect leaders to guide and initiate action, to lead from the front. No less than anyone else, acting decisively in a situation tends to make leaders feel good. However, often leaders often feel pressure to act, to develop solutions before the problem is properly understood, leading to a constant cycle of resolving the same problem without understanding what it is.

Brown suggests that the solution lies in accepting accountability rather than directing blame. It can be difficult to appreciate difference and diversity, particularly if one comes from a privileged position themselves. As Brown notes, fostering inclusivity, diversity and equity provides business with genuine opportunities to get a wider perspective on the world.

Shame and guilt are important, but distinct, emotions insofar as they refer to our conscience and how we feel about ourselves.