Every Day Courage as a Leader

I have been thinking about courage as a key attribute of great leadership.

Leading is synonymous with having courage. In simple terms, it takes courage to merely stand alone, make decisions, take action ... all of which invite commentary or criticism.

In more complex terms, leadership also requires courage to navigate in ambiguity, to take action with incomplete information, and to take calculated risks that sometimes have uncertain rewards.

At times, leadership must be a lonely place – a place where doubt can seep in, where you surely question the appropriateness of your decision, and the burden of why you, why now, why in this way am I being called to make such a heavy decision.