Leadership Courage—Where to Find It

Leadership demands that you show courage during times of difficult decisions or seemingly impossible tasks. But where can a leader find it at those crucial moments?

Let’s begin by defining what courage is. If you Google “what is the true definition of courage”. You will see that it says it’s “strength of mind to carry on in spite of danger or difficulty”.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary says it’s “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty”, (www.https//merriam-webster.com/dictionary/courage).

Those are good definitions, but where can a leader find that courage? 

They have 2 choices. They can look within themselves, or obtain it from external sources.

Internal sources would be the mental, emotional, and spiritual strength within themselves.



Leaders who developed these by successfully pushing through personal experiences in their past have an advantage, as they can now borrow from the lessons and victories of those experiences to obtain their courage.

The best way a leader can develop mental, emotional, and spiritual strength within is to push through the hard times or difficult decisions and see them through to the end.

Leaders should not shrink from challenges, because courage is built on the victories they’ve won over each challenge.

Or, you can observe someone who has a lot of courage and borrow a little of it for yourself.

Don’t strive to become the other person; just watch and learn, and then borrow those things which you can apply to your own situations.

Courage is an important tool in a leader’s toolbox, and obtaining it is a personal matter which can be affected by a person’s perception of themselves.

However, as was discussed here, leaders can build their own courage, borrow it, or have it imparted to them by others.



Find your courage in any or all of these methods, but remember to share the courage you found with others who may need it.

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