According to Aristotle, courage is the first virtue because it makes all the other virtues possible. If that’s true, then courage is also the first business virtue. After all, courage is the lifeblood of such important business concepts as leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship. Indeed, in the absence of courage, these concepts don’t exist!
I’ve devoted my life to helping people and organizations be more courageous. Since 2002, my company has led hundreds of courage-building seminars for top organizations like Accenture, Credit Suisse First Boston, EarthLink, SPANX and UNICEF. The most important thing my clients have taught me is that the entire workforce wins when everyone shows up to work each day with more courage. With less fear and more courage, workers take on harder projects, deal better with change and speak up more willingly about important issues. Below are some tips for helping you be more courageous at work:
- Be Mindful of the Risks of Not Risking. The risk of inaction is usually more perilous than the risk of action. As you consider a risk, be clear about the dangers of not taking the risk, too.
- Ask the Holy Question. Here are the four most important words you’ll ever learn in the English language: What do you want? Most people don’t take the time to answer that question with specificity. Those who do, however, are in a much better position to figure out the actions they need to take in order to get what they want.
- Have Something to Prove. Take on challenges that cause you to have to prove yourself to yourself. When the going gets rough, having something to prove can be a source of energy and motivation.
- Make Forward-Falling Mistakes. Making no mistakes is just as dangerous as making too many. Have a “mistake ratio,” a good balance between not making enough mistakes and making too many. As long as the mistakes you make are forward-falling, you’re making progress.
- Harness Fear. Fear is a normal, natural and necessary part of the work experience. While uncomfortable, fear has energy, and that energy can be useful when facing tough challenges. Harness your fear by spending time with it. The more you experience the thing that you’re afraid of, the more desensitized you become to it.
- Jump First. The best way to encourage those around you to be more courageous is to be more courageous yourself … first! Ask yourself, “When was the last time you did something courageous that probably left a favorable impression on the people you work with?” In other words, when did you last jump first?
The good news is that everyone has the capacity for being courageous. To what extent they are willing to use that capacity is another story! But use it they should, because courageous workers excel far more than their cowardly counterparts.
Bill is founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting (GLC), a courage-building company that exists to help people and organizations live more courageously. He is the author of Courage Goes to Work, a book about how to inspire more courageous behavior in workplace settings. His first book, Right Risk, is about how to take smart risks, and draws on Bill’s experiences as a daredevil athlete. Bill is a former member of the U.S. High Diving Team. E-mail Bill at btreasurer@giantleapconsulting.com.