An Introduction to the Virtues of Ethical Leadership Part 8 – The Virtue of Courage

The Virtue of Courage
By Chad Weinstein

This is part 8 in a series on The Virtues of Ethical Leadership.  Find links to earlier parts here.  https://ethinact.com/blog-post-series/

Courage enables us to overcome obstacles, and to do right in the face of fear or adversity. Courage is not the same as fearlessness, though the expression of courage may look fearless from the outside. Rather, we express Courage when we feel fear, and then move through it to make the best choices.  Expressing Courage often feels great…afterwards.

Perhaps more than with other virtues, Courage seems to be expressed primarily within a particular moment of truth: when we know something must be done, and we are concerned about the risks or costs of doing it.  The nature and duration of these moments vary: sometimes we are called on to act courageously briefly and urgently, while other times our Courage must sustain us for extended periods, in the face of longer-term adversity.

Many of our classic images of Courage involve physical heroism: in battle, or in emergency situations where one person risks death to save another.  These are certainly expressions of Courage.  In these situations, fear is natural, and the reasons for that fear are obvious.   Some acts of Courage are less apparent, but no less remarkable: when we do what is right despite the reasonable fear of social or emotional (rather than physical) injury.  When we call out an act of workplace bullying, even though we are afraid of being ridiculed or isolated.  When we lead our organization to do the right thing, despite the cost to ourselves and others.  Let us call these acts of moral Courage, to distinguish them from acts of physical Courage.  Another common – and significant – act of moral Courage: giving critical feedback to someone who does not want to hear it.

Considering only examples of physical Courage can mislead us about the expression of moral Courage.  There are distinct similarities: there is a moment of truth, and a risk to the person that inspires fear and therefore requires Courage. There is peril of one kind or another.  There are also important differences.  Generally, physical Courage is as easy to identify as its underlying peril: a burning building, an imposing cliff face, the enemy in sight.   The risks that require moral Courage are subtler, and more context dependent.  An experienced, widely-respected member of a group can take a position with confidence – requiring little or no courage – where a less-established member of the same group taking the same position would be taking a significant risk to his reputation.  Yet another member might not care as much about her standing in the group, and thus not experience the same level of fear.  We cannot always tell, from the outside, when someone is exhibiting moral Courage.   

Opportunities to express moral Courage can be harder to predict than corresponding opportunities for physical Courage.  Sometimes the need to speak up, or step up, arises in a meeting, or from something overheard in a hallway.   When we feel the nagging sense that we could have done better, it may be that we are feeling regret for a momentary lack of moral Courage.

One story of moral Courage in a professional setting eventually inspired others, years after it took place.   I was teaching an ethics class to a full auditorium of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), and the topic at hand was the Virtue of Courage.   An elderly student near the back of the room raised his hand.  I called on the student, who rose to speak.  He stood only slightly higher than those seated around him.  His voice shook a bit as he spoke.

“I’ll tell you about courage.  Forty years ago, I was a staff accountant on an audit, and I found that the client’s data was…garbage.  There was every reason to believe it was intentional; we were auditing the sales department, and the errors were systematic and seemed to favor certain members of that department.  At the same time, the client had let us know how important this audit was for their investment analysts.”

“I brought the issue to my team leader, who nervously brought it to our engagement manager.  He called a meeting that lasted long into the night, with my supervisor and me showing what we found and proving what we believed.  The engagement manager looked for every way to show we were mistaken – and we wanted to be mistaken as much as he did.  But we were right.”

“In the morning, the engagement manager spoke to the partner in charge of the account, and they approached the client together.  The client executive responsible for the audit responded with threats – and both the partner and the manager stood their ground.”

The older man paused, perhaps lost for a moment in his memories, then continued.  “That was courage, and I never forgot it.  That manager said to me, “all we have is our name and our reputation.  No job is worth compromising who we are and what we believe.  I’m just glad that our partner felt the same way.”

A sleepy auditorium came alive.  Hands shot up, and one professional after told their stories of moral Courage: tough conversations, between clients and within firms.  That elder’s story had been inspiring Courage and professionalism for decades and counting.

I approached the student after the class and thanked him for sharing his story.  “I was really scared,” said the man, “I thought all these young people would have just thought of me as a dinosaur.”  He was reassured by their obvious affirmation.  “I guess that was a kind of courage, too” he concluded.  I assured him that it certainly was.  We cannot always tell when someone is acting from moral Courage.

The Moderate Expression of Courage

Insufficient Courage can take many forms: we may be excessively hesitant, or simply absent where we are needed.  When our Courage fails us, we may freeze, or we may flee when a better course of action was indicated.  Sometimes the signs of inadequate Courage are more subtle: we may become excessively deliberative, or we may try to rationalize away our responsibilities or our potential roles in doing right, when really, we are succumbing to fear.  We may tell ourselves that we are just being patient, or we may minimize a principle that we would otherwise defend.

The excessive expression of Courage – or Courage that is inappropriate for the context or expressed in the absence of other needed Virtues – can be just as dangerous as inadequate Courage.  Taking actions, however brave, in the absence of Competence or Clarity can do great harm to ourselves and others.  We may make matters worse rather than better, out of a motive to avoid cowardice – or worse yet, to avoid the judgement of others.

The Features of Courage: Bravery, Integrity, and Tenacity

The features of Courage may be familiar to you, though their connection to Courage may be less obvious:

• Bravery is the capacity to the capacity to take risks and to act truly despite one’s fears.
• Integrity consists of honesty, consistency, and the thoughtful alignment of one’s commitments, words, and deeds.
• Tenacity is persistence and endurance in the face of adversity.

Each of these constitute observable features of Courage.

Bravery

Bravery and Courage are sometimes considered synonymous.  In this instance, the feature that we describe as Bravery enables us to take risks and to act despite our fears, and to face our fears, as necessary.   That is certainly a critical part of Courage, but the broader Virtue of Courage also encompasses other Features that enable one to overcome adversity, and to act in ways that reflect one’s values.  Bravery may sometimes be the most obvious outward manifestation of Courage.

Bravery also underscores how important it is for the Virtues to function together.   As we noted above, Bravery without Clarity or Wisdom may not be virtuous at all – it may be foolhardy or dangerous.   So, while Bravery is central to Courage, being brave alone may not always be entirely courageous.

Integrity

Integrity describes our sense of ourselves, and our commitment to actions that truly reflect who we are.  People commonly – and accurately – associate Integrity with truthfulness and faithfulness: the person of integrity seeks and speaks the truth.  Her words align with her deeds.  She honors commitments.   Integrity can be expressed in another, perhaps deeper way, as well: the person of integrity cares about her own moral development and is also dedicated to continuous improvement as a person.  In this sense, the term “Integrity” takes on a sense of “wholeness,” as an integer (a word with the same root) describes a whole number.  Integrity leads us to care for ourselves and to guide ourselves toward betterment.

Integrity is a Feature of Courage both because it motivates courageous action, and because it requires Courage to act from Integrity.   Our strong sense of ourselves offers a powerful motive to be brave or tenacious – to face fears or to power through adversity.  I interviewed a correctional officer who faced down a dangerous, armed inmate, positioning himself between the assailant and his intended victims, and engaging the armed inmate in conversation, putting himself at significant risk buying time and trying to improve the situation until help arrived.  Because of his cool head, the inmate ultimately surrendered to the arriving team of armed officers.  Because of the initial officer’s Courage, Clarity, and Competence, nobody was injured.  When asked about his thought process as he engaged, the officer acknowledged he was very scared, and said, “I didn’t want to think of myself as someone who didn’t step up just because he was scared.  This is part of the job.”

Integrity is not just a driver of courageous action.  Developing and acting from Integrity also reflect their own aspects of Courage.  It can be hard to take unpopular actions because we do not want to be the kind of person who does otherwise.  It can be scary or painful to take stock of one’s self, to learn from our mistakes, and to face one’s shortcomings.  Our advice for Virtue development often includes engaging others, as friends or mentors.  This can add to the requirement for Courage in the process of personal leadership development.  Being willing to do the hard work of personal growth is therefore both commendable and courageous.

Finally, the feature of Tenacity enables leaders to overcome challenges and push through adversity to succeed.  This trait has garnered a good deal of interest and study among educator social scientists, who call it “Grit.”  By any name, it is the ability to hang in there, to keep at it, to endure.

As a feature of Courage, Tenacity is especially inspiring and impactful.  Nelson Mandela sustained 27 years in prison before rising to lead his nation of South Africa through a complex, protracted process of reconciliation and transformation.  When Sandra Day O’Connor graduated with honors from Stanford Law School in 1952, she was unable to find paying work as an attorney because she was a woman.  She ultimately was hired as a deputy county attorney in San Mateo, California, after agreeing to work without salary and without her own office space, sharing workspace with a departmental secretary.   Her legal and public service career culminated, of course, as an Associate Justice of the Unites States Supreme Court, the first woman to hold that position.  Such tenacity enabled these and other leaders to literally change the world.

The expression of tenacity can also be narrower in scope: seeing a difficult project through to completion or struggling to learn a new skill without giving up.  For many successful people in all fields of endeavor, tenacity has proven more important than raw talent in their achievements.  In fact, raw talent rarely if ever finds its fullest expression without the tenacity to develop it.

Develop Bravery:

• We can feel our fears, learn what they may be telling us, and then make decide to act, even when we are afraid. Practice acting consciously in the face of fear.
• If Bravery is a challenge in one area of life, begin by taking small risks in that area, and reflect on how it feels.
• Most of us are braver in some arenas than others. If there are other areas of your life where you feel you are braver, reflect on how you can bring that spirit to the areas of challenge, as well.

Develop Integrity

• Work to define your values and your priorities. Create a value statement or credo.
• Take stock of your life and evaluate how well you are living in accordance with your own values. Where you fall short, what are the barriers, and how can you overcome them?
• When we fail to act courageously, we create an opportunity to learn from our shortcomings. Acknowledge your mistake, resolve to grow – and then forgive yourself and move on. This reflection is valuable for developing Integrity as well as Courage more generally.

Develop Tenacity

• Set incremental goals for both efforts and outcomes: “I will work for 30 minutes,” as well as “I will finish this task.” Track your progress with respect to both sets of goals.
• Remind yourself of your sense of purpose, and the reasons why you choose to struggle or work through difficulties. Envision success, and what it will mean for you and for others.
• Reward your successes and learn from your shortcomings. Seek mentorship or assistance to overcome stubborn instances where you are less tenacious than you would like to be.

These techniques, and many others, are discussed in the next section of this Guide, Using the Virtues to Grow as a Leader.

Summary of Courage

Courage is critical because leadership can be hard, and because the meaningful things that leaders empower others to do are often hard.   Sometimes the hard part is obvious, sometimes not – and so we must be mindful that the need for courage can arise at any time, and we should pause to recognize courage in others, especially when it reflects growth or development.

Finally, as leaders we can literally create encouragement: we can establish cultures and norms that promote courage, and that recognize acts of courage large and small.  When we respect the dignity of individuals and foster connections and relationships, we make it easier for people to act from integrity, and indeed to set those expectations for others.  When we reward tenacity as well as talent, and we demonstrate bravery by taking purposeful risks ourselves, we create environments where courage takes root.

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