Recently, leaders of all types of businesses have been faced with changes. Huge changes.
The move to a virtual environment for businesses working from home has led to disruptions in productivity and staffing, dramatically altering forecasting and decision-making.
It’s been super tough for leaders to get their teams in a steady, predictable place.
Angie Morgan, an executive coach and Marine Corps veteran who regularly writes about leadership over at Real Leaders, recently penned a fascinating article about the four types of courage we, as leaders, need to bring back to the workplace after such a tumultuous eighteen months.
Angie says: “We need courageous leaders during these times who can bravely and confidently go into the unknown. While these leaders may never experience the need for physical courage, here are four types of courage they can leverage to continuously level up”
You can visit Real Leaders to see the article in full or read on right here for a summary.
Managerial Courage
When organisations are formed, things are much simpler. There’s a pattern to follow, a hierarchy, boxes that represent individuals responsible for other people, and responsible for things getting done.
The thing is, as time goes on, we find out that some people aren’t suitable for managerial positions. Maybe they can’t set clear expectations or enforce standards.
Managerial courage is the ability to have difficult conversations when it comes to challenges with your people. They could be the nicest person in the world, but if they’re not right…they’re just not right.
Courageous managers dare to put the business and the culture first, even if it’s not the most popular thing.
Intellectual Courage
We all know that one person at work who comes across so assured, that we sometimes mistake it for smugness. Often, we don’t pause to think how much confidence is needed to have that certainty. It can be a great trait when used correctly, but it so often is.
Instead, we must display intellectual courage of a different kind, one that seeks the opinions and viewpoints of others. When we are intellectually open, that’s when our team works the best.
Be curious about what you don’t know and accept opinions and ideas from others. Sometimes, a simple statement like “I don’t really know; what do you think?” will go a long way.
Moral Courage
Integrity is “doing the right thing even when no one is looking”, right? Doing the right thing can sometimes put you at a disadvantage (see managerial courage), but it’s easier said than done.
Having moral courage in the workplace might mean you stay away from office gossip, but also call out those who do. Maybe it’s letting your best team member go because they didn’t follow a really important rule.
Whatever it is, morally courageous leaders set a high standard for others to follow, and are a must in today’s workplace.
Social Courage
Another aspect to have as a leader is social courage. This means being yourself! We all feel the pressure to conform, it’s only natural. Society works that way. But sometimes, it’s to our detriment. If our best qualities became stifled by norms, we’d lose our voice.
What truly makes us a leader is our personality. We should never dampen them down. Lean into your personality, share your point of view. We go through thousands of bad ideas to get to a good one, so imagine if you never said any of your ideas out loud. Maybe it could’ve been a real winner! Say it loud, say it proud.
