6 Characteristics of Courageous Leaders

Discipline is the strength to do what others are unwilling to attempt to achieve the results of greatness

- Larry Barker

Are you a Courageous Leaders?

Truly courageous leaders consistently do the following

1. Demand 100% from themselves

• Have the strength to discipline themselves to continuously demand peak performance.

• Only you know if you gave 100%.

• They establish daily routines for focusing on what is most important, breaking work down into manageable chunks, doing whatever it takes to achieve their objectives, every day without exception.

2. Are emotionally mature

No single attribute of leadership is harder to attain than emotional maturity. Those who believe they have it probably don’t even know what it is. Those who force themselves to evaluate it and commit to improve upon it on a constant basis are the only ones who have a change of getting good at it. Emotional maturity is the ability to take feedback from others and apply it wisely no matter who you are or what your position. It is the ability to prevent yourself from getting emotionally highjacked under pressure, and it is the strength to be interested in finding the best way, not in having their own way.

Those who are emotionally intelligent don’t say things they regret later, they don’t believe others are micro managing them, they don’t have to win an argument, they don’t ever believe the way they are doing things now is the best way and they don’t have to take credit for success. They are so emotionally strong, they are always capable of taking feedback and they take ultimate responsibility for everything in their life.

3. Council with Others

Executive council is one of the most underutilized management techniques in American business.Effective council is the ability to utilize the collective wisdom of the organization to identify better solutions.Leaders must learn to frame up problems and solicit guidance from team members and associates to identify exceptional solutions.Collective wisdom is always more powerful than the capability of any individual, no matter how smart.

Because leadership council is not a standard practice in American business, team members may need to be taught about the value of council.They should be made aware of the fact that collective wisdom will be sought after and utilized and that seeking collective wisdom is the sign of a confident leader not a sign of weakness or lack of knowledge.

4. Have mastered the discipline of making good decisions and taking responsibility

Making good decisions is challenging.There is no metrics that reveals whether you are making mediocre, good or great decisions. For this reason many people are unaware that their decision-making capabilities are weak and that the decisions they make are suboptimal. Like premier athletes who continue their discipline long after they have become exceptional at their sport, great leaders continuously strive to improve their decision-making capabilities. For more clarification on how to improve your decision-making see the blog “Double the Value of Your Decisions”.

Great decision-making is also the result of being a master of your discipline and an innovator in your space. Great leaders are not afraid to commit to decisions because they believe in their knowledge of the business, in their ability to come up with innovative and valuable ideas, and are willing to commit to the decisions they make.Be thoughtful in your decision-making. Decide quickly, and commit to the decisions you make.

5. Know and live their own values

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and Winston Churchill are just a few of the leaders who transformed nations by knowing their values and inspiring others to follow their vision by living their true values.

Great leaders know exactly what their values are and why they have them.They boldly talk about their values as if they are immutable and absolutely certain. Their actions are always aligned to their values no matter what the cost. They do not concern themselves with how others will see them for the values they hold dear. They fight for what they believe to be right and they are passionate about doing whatever must be done to make the world a better place.

6. Inspire others to be exceptional

Demanding more from others than others are demanding from themselves is the highest achievement of leadership.Great leaders continuously inspire with powerful vision, they encourage others with kindness and inspiration, they build momentum through achievement and communication.Courageous leaders also lead by example when the going gets tough, they demand more from themselves than anyone else would expect.They also demand more from others than others are often comfortable giving.They set high objectives, they measure progress along the way and demand consistent achievement.When frustration and pain and fatigue and negative feedback make them want to slow down or turn back, they press forward in doing what is right with full purpose of heart.If we don’t demand the most from ourselves or follow those who do, we will never develop the strength to be great.

Be Courageous!

Demand courageous behavior from yourself every day.