“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point.”  –C.S. Lewis

Wow.  Opening this post with this quote from C. S. Lewis just heightened my level of attention to a subject that has been watered down through over use and misunderstanding through the years.  How do we recover the word Courage from the Buzzword purgatory it’s currently relegated to?

My answer is to define it and to continually discuss it.  That is the problem with corporate values statements as well.  They are inadequately defined and communicated infrequently.

Courage To Act

A Definition of Courage:

 To act without regard for perceived or actual personal risk.

Courage:  Definition In 3 Parts: 

To Act

Courage is only a platitude without stepping out or speaking out.  I must act.

For example if I truly believe in values such as integrity and trust, I must speak out when my company acts dishonorably.  Just this week a high level executive at Goldman Sachs did just that (NY Times).

Without Regard for Perceived Risk

Four letters.  FEAR.  I’ve heard people say that courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to act in spite of the fear.  Being afraid does not make me a coward, failing to act on what I know is right because of that fear does.

Without Regard for Actual Risk

FEAR is not just about our unreasonable anxieties.  There are real and tangible risks in life where fear is warranted.  But again, being afraid does not make me a coward, failing to act on what I know is right because of that fear does.

Courage In Action

Theoretically, I just covered the topic of courage.  This is exactly where most discussions of topics like courage and integrity usually end.  But, I believe, to truly understand what a virtue/value like courage really means, I must identify what it looks like in practice.

10 Displays of Courage At Work

  1. The mid-level leader who gives paid time off to an employee to take care of a sick child, even if his boss may frown on it.
  2. The executive assistant who refuses to process her boss’s expense report with personal expenses on it.
  3. The mechanic who accepts responsibility for missing a leak and does not charge for the additional labor to fix it.
  4. The working mom who leaves a meeting while the CEO is speaking because her child’s school is calling.
  5. The colleague who refuses to join the other married men on their way to a gentlemen’s club while out of town on business and declares why he is not going.
  6. The president of the company, who takes responsibility and apologizes to the employees for a decision she made that caused internal unrest.
  7. The worker who quietly tells the boss his fly is open or there is food in his teeth.
  8. The leader who tells the employee specifically why they did not get the promotion or the raise in clear and direct terms.
  9. The meeting participant who speaks out when she hears the group preparing a strategy that is unethical or operates in the gray areas.
  10. Anyone at work who takes responsibility for a mistake in their department when a customer or another department complains.

The Bottom Line:

Knowing the definition of courage is one thing, to act courageously is another.  As with most virtuous acts, my ability to act courageously begins by doing it in day to day life first. With repetition, courage grows into a habit that will prepare me for a truly heroic act in the future.

Most of us did not start at the pool diving off the 10 meter platform. We started at the side of the pool and built our way up.  I’d contend that to be a man of courage I must first begin on the low board if I ever dream of being ready for the high dive of courage.

Question:

What is the most memorable act of courage you witnessed at work?