Courage: the heart of a leader

Aidan Rave marks out the six qualities of the best leaders – but argues that they are nothing without the most important quality of all: courage

Don’t worry, this is not one of those clickbait questions you get at the bottom of news websites, nor is it some quack theory designed to sell you a GGI-branded miracle cure.

It’s just that having spent the best part of a quarter of a century (often as a deputy or number two) working with – and quietly observing – leaders in a range of different settings, I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes a good leader.

I was originally going to write this article about adaptive leadership and the relevance of its underlying principles to the increasingly complex and at times chaotic patterns of demand facing leaders of organisations with a public purpose. Another time.

Adaptive leadership has grown in relevance as the ‘certainties’ we clung to through the first decade of the new millennium have crumbled in the face of a tidal wave of technical, social, political and environmental upheaval.

Practice over theory

Rather than getting into an analysis of managerial theory, I want to get into some raw practice that’s relevant to anyone aspiring to be a better leader.

In my experience there are six core qualities that effective leaders exhibit, but these six are catalysed, energised and to some extent tempered by a seventh – without which the leaders core qualities are fatally diminished.

That essential seventh quality is courage.

Let me set out my thinking more systematically. The six qualities that I believe to be critical to effective leadership are:

1. Accountability – the quality of standing up and being counted, regardless of the personal consequences.
2. Empathy – a core element of adaptive leadership too; the ability to take the time to understand the challenges, fears, ambitions and motivation of those you seek to lead.
3. Fortitude – the strength to persevere in the face of challenges, but perhaps more tellingly, to aspire to better when things are going ok, and to engender that resilience within those you lead.
4. Foresight – the ability to read the game several moves ahead; to articulate goals and ambitions that perhaps others cannot yet see, while still embracing the caution of those who do not share your view.
5. Selflessness – instinctively placing the hopes of others before your own, through the ability to subdue vanity and ego; to view leadership as service rather than the fulfilment of personal ambition.
6. Integrity – the fundamental quality of doing the right thing for the objectives of those you are there to serve, stemming from an inherent sense of duty and humility – human values at the centre of great leadership.

I’ve seen leaders, up close and personal, exhibiting these qualities and noted the incredible power they have to mobilise new ideas, overcome fear and focus on surmounting seemingly impossible odds to achieve progress. For balance, I’ve also seen the flip side – leaders who lack these qualities – and sadly, you don’t have to look too far to see that for yourselves.

However, I contend that these six qualities are rendered largely ineffectual in the absence of the seventh quality: courage, the nucleus of great leadership.

Take courage

Courage enables the leader to step up to the plate and accept the consequences of their leadership. It provides the strength to demonstrate humility in what are often still very macho corporate environments. It underpins the fortitude to carry on when everything seems lost, and the confidence to set out a vision of a better future when all around are subdued by doubt and negativity. The qualities of selflessness and integrity are impossible without the courage to draw on personal values, to be unfettered by the temptations of the easy win or the seduction of personal aggrandisement.

In short, you can’t be a great leader without a degree of courage – it’s really that simple.

So, is courage borne of nature or nurture? Make no mistake, there are people with natural leadership abilities, but the suggestion that leaders are ‘born not bred’ is utter nonsense, often peddled by those to whom the status quo works perfectly well and whose interests are best served by keeping others in their place.

No leader I have ever encountered has been successful without learning and developing their leadership skills over time and the ability to develop courage is no exception to this.

How to be a better leader

My advice to anyone who wishes to be a better leader is two-fold:

Observe – not necessarily by categorising good and bad; just observe the actions, impacts, outcomes and consequences of the leadership you see. The difference between good and bad leadership will become brutally apparent. Learn to see and hear beyond sharp suits and big words; try to identify the qualities of leadership set out earlier and, above all, look for evidence of courage.

Reflect – how you interpret and internalise what you have learnt will guide your own leadership journey. You are a leader now, regardless of your rank in the hierarchy. Your behaviours will influence others around you, whether you like it or not, so think about how your learning is both being influenced and is influencing those around you.

None of this demands additional cost, none of it is dependent on an MBA or time off to pursue external learning.

The courage to be a better leader is there already, whether you chose to harness it is ultimately up to you.