Are You Missing This Critical Element In Your Leadership?

When it comes to leadership in today’s faster-paced work environment, there’s no question that leaders are expected to wear many hats. Not so much in terms of tasks, but in terms of function. That’s why when we speak of leadership, there’s a tendency to tack on additional qualifiers, such as transformative leadership, servant leadership, creative leadership, emotional intelligence leadership, and so forth.

But what’s striking about these various sub-divisions or sub-categories of leadership is how we often overlook another critical element to successful leadership – namely, courageous leadership.

Of course, part of the problem is that courageous leadership tends to be conflated with stories – whether real or fictional – of leaders who in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds become a well-spring of inspiration to those they lead, either through personal sacrifices they make to their cause or through evoking a passionate call to action through their actions and words.

But the truth is courageous leadership is actually more grounded in a reality-based dynamic, one that is becoming ever more necessary in the face of rising divisions between economic partners as well as along cultural lines, in addition to politically-influenced ones. While most of us may be inclined to keep our heads down, as leaders, the economic and political divisions we see today are merely the currents we have to navigate in order to achieve the long-term goals defined by our shared vision.

And that means that we have to rise above the current fray that promotes divisiveness for economic/political gain and instead act in a manner that reflects what we say our values, vision, and overall purpose is. More specifically, courageous leadership is about using your influence to challenge the way things are and where we’re headed because you know we need to do better [Share on Twitter].

It’s about using our vantage point that takes into account the long view to help others understand why we need to change course, why we need to stop what we’re currently doing if we want to achieve our shared purpose and long term goals.

Of course, it’s not simply about our words; it’s also about the actions we take and that there’s consistency between what we say is important and what we treat as being important. And that means that as leaders, we need to be willing to not simply make the hard decisions, but to ask ourselves tough questions about our leadership. Questions like:

• Do I respond with gratitude or frustration when those around me point out the gap between what I say matters to me and what I actually do?
• Are the decisions I make being driven by the need to do right by those I lead or by my need to be seen as being right?
• Am I creating an environment where people can speak their truth about what they see going wrong and how impacts our ability to achieve our organizational vision?
• Am I making my leadership all about me, or all about those who I’ve committed to serve and to help succeed and thrive under my watch?
• What do I care more about serving – my ego and how my leadership is perceived, or my employees and what they experience under my leadership?

In discussions I’ve had with various leaders about these questions, it often arises how challenging it can be at times to stay the course under the pressure of just trying to get things done. But this is why this element of leadership has become ever more critical to the way we lead, and not just in times of crisis, divisive politics, or economic uncertainty. After all, courageous leadership means conducting ourselves in a manner where others believe in the value of our decisions because they see we have their best interests at heart [Share on Twitter].

And given how the success of our leadership stems from how effective we are in rallying people behind our ideas and our vision, this is something we can’t overlook or forgo out of the need or desire for expediency.

Interestingly, this also shines a light on another aspect of courage in leadership and that is courageous leaders accept that others won’t see things the way they do, and they’re okay with that [Share on Twitter]. That we’re not simply dismissing, discounting, or worse, denigrating people simply because they bring a different perspective, outlook, or point of view to the table.

Again, think about what a leader does. At the end of the day, a leader’s job is to rally people together around a common cause and engender within them the drive to bring their best efforts to making it a reality [Share on Twitter].

And that means not simply seeking out the like-minded people who share our interests, our background, or how we view the world around us. Rather, it’s about gathering people around a common cause or idea that unifies them to see each other as part of this larger community or purpose.

That’s why in those examples of courageous leaders, people like Martin Luther King, Jr, Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, and Viola Desmond, we find people whose courage is exemplified not only in their unwavering resolve and quiet conviction, but in their drive to impart to those around them a belief that we can change the conditions of today for a better tomorrow.

To put it more simply, courageous leaders inspire those around them to see greatness in themselves, to dig deep to find their unique gift and share it with the world [Share on Twitter].

And frankly, just showing up and demonstrating that level of integrity, that level of consistency in your words and actions that this is what I believe and stand for – regardless of whether things are going well or not – is in itself the biggest step that separates courageous leaders from those who prefer to keep their heads down and play it safe.

And in the current environment where we see so many leaders willing to ignore actions and behaviours that supposedly go counter to what they claim are their values or what they believe, it’s becoming even more critical for the rest of us to demonstrate more courage in our leadership in making sure that we are truly serving those we have the responsibility to lead, and not just ourselves.