Do one thing every day that scares you. Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down. - Eleanor Roosevelt
We shape our future every day as we choose what and who we stand for. Where we place our attention, which conversations we engage in, and whether we will link the wisdom, power and courage of our heart with the actions we take as leaders affect this moment and all the moments to come.
What if the secret to courageous leadership is found in the heart?
Courage resides there, as the ancients recognized: the root of the word courage is cor, the Latin word for heart. Centered in our hearts, courage rises. We can do what frightens us, face pain or grief, discover what endows our lives with meaning and purpose, and become a leader people trust.
It’s hard to settle into our hearts and tap the courage that lives there, preoccupied as we are with the daily deluge of emails and texts, the zigzagging of thousands of thoughts competing for our attention. The gremlins of worry, winning at all costs, running disaster scenarios, or the imposter syndrome refrain of “who me?” are like a cold wind from the north, shuttering heart forces.
But, as we stay with the vulnerability of an open heart, we enter a different realm where what we truly care about can move us to fulfill our deepest commitments and motivate others to do the same. A step at a time our courage naturally rises to become love in action.
What does heart courage ask of us as leaders? It calls us to re-orient priorities as we assess costs and opportunities, recognize what’s really working, be in a more direct relationship with the living world, or listen below what we know to the quiet voice of emerging wisdom. Conscious leaders activate the force of love to launch and support the nonprofit and business ventures that show us the way to a long, livable, and beautiful future together.
I get it. Listening to our hearts can be disturbing. It can be uncomfortable to embrace disturbance when it comes our way – or even go so far as to invite disturbance as consultant and author Margaret Wheatley, Ed.D. encourages in her essay Disturb Me, Please.
Courageous leaders invite disturbance. Things get shaken up when we find the audacity to tell the truth, to say what we mean and mean what we say. It disturbs the status quo when we reach beyond past differences to collaborate, halt an initiative that just got off the ground, or pivot supply chains to respond to the crisis-level wake-up call from climate disasters. Consciously leading often means being a disturbing force and requires a truly tenacious heart.
In HBR online, Harvard Business School Professor, Nancy Koehn, defines a courageous leader as “an individual who's capable of making themselves better and stronger when the stakes are high and circumstances turn against that person.” She goes on to say,
Most of our lives, we’re beset by crises. Courageous leaders are not cowed or intimidated. They realize that, in the midst of turbulence, there lies an extraordinary opportunity to grow and rise.
On March 8th of this year, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden addressed the International Women of Courage (#IWOC2021) Awards virtual ceremony to honor a group of extraordinary women from around the world.
These women are the face of opposition to autocratic rule, promoters of peacebuilding and reconciliation, organizers of protests, and voices for an end to human rights abuses. They’ve harnessed the attention of the international community to acknowledge and act against the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that shatters families and communities.
While they’ve faced harassment, threats, and imprisonment, these women continue to connect with the courage of their hearts. They lead from a passionate dedication to justice and accountability, especially for their country’s most vulnerable populations.
They don’t lead alone. They stand in a community of support. I wonder, who encouraged them to unlock their inner courage? Who stood with them?
Courageous leaders use encouragement to renew heart forces. Even when we lose hope, when someone stands with us, speaks up with a vote of confidence, sends an encouraging text, or recognizes our contribution, we once again believe that the world can be made better by our actions.
We never know what ripples from our small acts of courage. In August of 1906, Barbara Pope chose not to follow the rules of segregation when she boarded a train nearly 50 years before Rosa Parks’ historic bus ride. W.E.B. Du Bois encouraged Barbara who went on to create “a cornerstone of the 20th-century civil rights movement” through her writing and actions. Her little-known case became one of the first steps toward the end of legal segregation.
Courageous leaders are authentic. They dig deep, lead with empathy and compassion. True to themselves, their authenticity impacts employee satisfaction, work happiness and organizational commitment, as demonstrated in this study by Susan Jenkins and Fred Luthans at U of Nebraska.
Courageous leaders stand in personal integrity. The first step is to recognize what deactivates our fearless, valiant, spunky spirit, what takes us away from the fire in our soul. The habitual and often unconscious thinking patterns and internal conversations that close our hearts leave us sitting down when we want to stand. They back us off from speaking up or writing our truth even when how much we care can barely be contained.
Courageous leaders strengthen core commitments. When the courage of the heart rises from the seat of feelings it transforms into strong convictions. Not deterred by opposition or disapproval, we stand for what really matters.
The Journey into Courage
In my experience, we usually think of courage on a grand scale: summiting the mountain, tackling the obstacles, dominating the challenge, pushing ourselves to accomplish big things. Striving, forcing, we make it happen. While we are all called upon to employ this type of courage from time to time, it can be exhausting when taken too far. American historian Howard Zinn agrees with Eleanor:
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
Standing at this threshold, how will we unleash our heart courage? Fearlessly soften the barriers we’ve built against feeling what really matters to us? Pluck up our nerve and do something frightening, yet important?
I’ve seen small bold acts kindle heart forces and provide energy for remarkable leadership. The confidence we need becomes accessible when we practice the power of the pause and offer ourselves the tender receptive presence we might offer a beloved.
This week I’m taking the time to listen into the tender yet relentless blossoming in my garden, the upright strength of our mountain, the brisk fog winds. Breathing deeply my heart opens, tuning me into my own heartfelt courage, showing me how I can be more responsive to what is needed, what I can offer, what is mine to do.
Heart forces flourish with reinforcement. Notice, what calls you to step into your heart courage. What encouragement can you ask for or offer?
Collectively, and personally, we are at a remarkable threshold. We’ve woken up to the preciousness of life. Let’s use this time to slip out of our comfort zone and lead the way into new opportunities where something surprisingly good can happen.
And, today, before going on to what is next, let’s take a moment to settle into our warm beating heart where courage becomes love in action.