Success impulse: Are you brave enough?
Courage is an important quality, but not very widespread. Our author believes that management in particular is not always courageous enough and offers tips for three "tests of courage.
Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly regarded as the most important of all human qualities...for it is this quality that guarantees all others." The only unfortunate thing is that the most important qualities are not necessarily the most widely shared. And certainly not courage.
Lead courageously
Do you know what I miss most in the executive suites of many companies? The courage to think big, to tackle the most challenging goals, to push through important decisions and to exemplify courageous leadership.
There is a huge difference between people staying in their comfort zone and thinking and acting on a much larger scale. Truly great things are only ever created when the distance between a vision and the current state is as great as possible.
This requires courage. Because growing 3% feels safer than trying to double the business in 3 years. Keeping our team mediocre is easier than creating a top team. The latter will create resistance, fears, complaints. But also the chance for real change, for real excellence.
Three tests of courage
So here's my appeal: Show more courage! You can practice it. Here are three "tests of courage":
- Targets. At the next budget meeting or strategy workshop, don't settle for the normal. Instead, say, "I think we should dare to do more. We can do a lot more good for a lot more customers. Let's go for it." And then announce your bold goal statements. In pursuing these goals, of course, you must be careful not to let your courage leave you. That's your choice.
- Decisions. Show courage to make small decisions immediately and larger decisions after brief consideration. Most of the time you will be right (or it doesn't matter). And if not, correct. This is almost always possible. Only evaluate the really big decisions more carefully. I see leaders struggle with the simplest decisions all the time. You have to change that.
- Change. I've written about this before: Make it a habit to do something different every now and then. Fight mental rigidity and dare to do something new. Be it cancelling meetings or changing habits. By doing so, you show yourself and everyone else that change is normal and inertia is unacceptable.
One last reminder: We have only a limited time on this planet. At the end of life, few people complain that they were too brave, but many complain that they didn't dare enough. So go ahead, what are you waiting for? Courage!
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
