Courage in the Moment

Introduction by James (Jamie) Fischer

At Ethical Leaders in Action, we have been focused a lot these days on Moral Courage, one of the Elements of Moral Action.  If you saw Chad’s recent video post, https://ethinact.com/video-the-elements-of-moral-action-part-1/, you know that we observe three elements which lead to Moral Action: Moral Motivation, Moral Clarity, and Moral Courage.

Moral Motivation is the baseline commitment to make the best choices; the inner drive to be our best.  Moral Clarity is cognitive, developed by learning from outcomes and adjusting.  The final element, Moral Courage, empowers us to drive through adversity so we can act in accord with our values.  These aspects work together to help us navigate our lives in ethical ways.

At ELA we believe that most of us have that desire to make the best choices.  Our challenge too often lies in understanding the situation or in harnessing the strength to push on. By examining incidents of moral stress, we can improve our understanding and fortify ourselves.

Engaging in and reflecting on stories like the one Chad tells below can prepare us for our own moments of truth.  As you read, visualize yourself in Chad’s situation.  How would you want to respond?  Can you see yourself doing so?  How might the aggressor react?  Are you prepared for that?  Why would it be important for you to take a stand over what some might see as a trivial matter?

Please enjoy “Courage in the Moment” from Chad Weinstein’s book, Thinking Aloud: Reflections on Ethical Leadership.  Get your free PDF version of Thinking Aloud.

Courage in the Moment
by Chad Weinstein

My wife Cathy and I were driving through downtown Minneapolis today, a sunny Sunday afternoon, after celebrating our anniversary.  We pulled up beside a taxi cab and then saw a pedestrian, a stocky guy about 50 years old, lashing out at the cabdriver for nosing into the crosswalk. He was enraged, he was loud, and he was vaguely threatening.  One especially disturbing part of his invective: “This isn’t Somalia, you know!”

I rolled down my window, glared at the guy, and said nothing.  He kept ranting as he walked off.

First, I believe that the pedestrian’s ranting constituted genuine hate speech, and that it called for a response from someone able to respond.  I was able to respond, and chose not to.  I didn’t want to risk his attacking us in the car, nor did I want to rise from the car, making a fight more likely.  It is reasonable and appropriate to balance some duties with risk and reward.  On balance, telling him loudly and clearly to stop his racist ranting would have been better than remaining silent.  I see my silence as a failure of courage.

I am still somewhat troubled by this event.  I know that we cannot change the past; we can, and ought to, learn from it.  In that spirit, this moment provides some insight into the challenging nature of courage itself.  This instance provides insight into both physical courage, which overcomes a fear of injury, and moral courage, which overcomes fears of embarrassment, material loss, or social isolation.

I frequently remind audiences: rarely can we predict the need for moral courage.  This means both that we will indeed face moments of truth, and that we ought to seek moral clarity in advance of such moments.  This morning I let one such moment pass, and when my anger at the bigot subsided, I was left feeling disappointed in myself.

In Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy highlights this self-regard as a key factor in promoting courage.  He argues that his subjects, primarily 19th-century senators, risked personal ruin in part to preserve their senses of themselves as principled and courageous.  Perhaps I will remember my own sense of disappointment when future moments arise.  My calculations will more prominently include the impact of proper action on my sense of self.  A little flash of shame is worth it to me, if it helps me to be better in the future.

A broader sense of perspective is in order.  Nobody died; harsh words were exchanged.  It is also important to consider a momentary lapse along with other acts that more fully represent the person I strive to be.  The aim of this exercise is neither self-abuse nor self-denigration, but self-improvement.  Let us use the past to prepare for future moments of truth.

The goal, in short, is encouragement, in the truest sense of that term.

Conversation Starters

Often the need for courage arises in the moment.  We cannot change the past, but we can use it to prepare for future moments.

• Reflect on some moments when you were not your best. What can you learn from them?
• When you don’t do what you believe would be right, what holds you back? What do you fear?
• It can be embarrassing to share our shortcomings with others. Who is on your team?  With whom can you share those moments, in order to get better?

At Ethical Leaders in Action we believe that most, if not all people, can develop themselves to play leadership roles in many different spheres both large and small. The foundation of this development process is a short but powerful list of virtues which can be developed and improved through conscious effort. For more information feel free to take the Virtues of Ethical Leadership Self Inventory (VELSI) which breaks these virtues down into features that can be individually developed. The results of the VELSI come with a quick reference guide to help you understand how the virtues and their individual features fit together. https://ethinact.com/velsi/

See a list of other posts in this series at Blog Post Series

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