1. “Courage in Leadership and
Leadership in Courage”
A Guided Discussion
Dr Santrupt B. Misra
AIMA: Young Leaders Retreat, Goa
November 17, 2012

2. “Courage is the first of
human virtues because it
makes all others possible”
Aristotle
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3. They all displayed courage!
Did they display courage of the same kind?
Lets start with a Quiz!
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4. What is Courage?
 Origin of the word in English:
• From ‘corage’, ‘coraticum’ and ‘cor’
• Pertaining to the ‘heart’ , a common metaphor for the inner
strength one has
• Used in a broader sense to depict ‘what is in one’s mind or
thoughts’ and hence shaping one’s actions, hence ‘Bravery’,
‘zeal’ and ‘strength’
 Meaning of ‘Courage’ from Sanskrit ( a few examples):
• धृतित (self command, resolution, will, firmness)
• पराक्रम ( valour, heroism, energy, prowess, good deed)
• धैर्य र (durability, daring, patience, forethought, fortitude)
• उपक्रम ( initiative, remedy, start, stratagem)
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5. When have you displayed
courage?
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6. Courage is found in the
unlikeliest of places
Rosa Parks:
Resisting bus segregation
Malala Yousafzai:
Exercising one’s Right to
Education
Courageous acts create new heroes, new leaders, new
movements. They start with a cause – Courage
follows! 6

7. What is Courage in Corporate
Context?
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8. When do you stay away
from being courageous?
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9. When to Stay Away
It is important to follow instructions, take cover, step
back and priortise ! 9

10. What forms of courage
are you comfortable
with?
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11. Forms of Courage
Big heroic feats
Small things that lead to a big change
Physical Courage
• Fear is a natural phenomenon.
• Being frightened is different from showing fear
Moral Courage
• The ability to distinguish right from wrong
• Say so when asked, irrespective of what your
superiors might think or what your colleagues or
your subordinates might want
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12. Forms of Courage
When a disaster strikes courage is
impulsive
• For example: People trying to save lives during
a factory mishap
In business, courage can be defined
as a special skill of calculated risk
taking
There is a thin line between
courage and rashness
• A rash person fears nothing, pretending to be
courageous even in the face of disease and
war, when fear is appropriate 12

13. Courage in Leadership
The list of characteristics or virtues that comprise
great leadership is long and often contradictory
For an aspiring leader it becomes difficult to find
the starting point
The expectations and the needs of those being
led further complicates the situation
Leadership is highly personal; what works for one
person might not work for another
However Leadership must start from within the
leader’s heart, where real courage resides
Courage is a necessary trait of effective
leadership. Leaders can not display the other
traits of leadership if they didn’t have courage
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14. 14
Courage in Leadership
 A Socio political crisis and that threatens operations
and lives
 A middle manager blows the whistle on corruption at
the highest levels of his company
 A young manager refuses to work on her boss’s pet
project because she fears it will discredit the
organization
 A CEO urges his board, despite push back from
powerful, hostile members, to make a serious
investment in environmentally sustainable technology
 A Star performer in the team is found to be violating
on Values
How often have you faced such situations and
what has been your response as individual
leaders and an organisation?

15. 15
Courageous Leader
 Ability to choose and decide
 Speaks up and has a voice, not a ‘yes’ man
 Open to innovation and starting unique and untried
things
 Courage to expand even when things are comfortable
 Ready to make tough and unpopular decisions, for the
greater good
 Plans and Communicates effectively , team executes
 Has confidence in others, trusts them and also gives up
on some control
 Has the ability to hold people accountable and fire the
poor performers
 Has the courage to change direction, does not fear
change
 Takes on and Manages ambiguity

16. 16
How to build leadership
in Courage?
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17. 17
Leadership in Courage
Courage
Acquire
Display
Practice
Different forms of courage and different levels of
courage

18. 18
Leadership in Courage
As leaders, what can we doing to make
‘courage’ the core of our organisation and
our people?
As an organization how do we create
future courageous leaders? Is there a
method ?
How do we ensure that rashness does not
raise its head in the guise of courage?

19. 19
Leadership in Courage
Everyone has the capacity to be courageous
Courage is a teachable and learnable skill
Three basic areas where an organisation’s
leadership requires focus is
• ‘Trying’ Courage : Initiative and Actions -
encouraging first attempts and pursuance of
pioneering efforts
• ‘Trusting’ Courage : Confidence in others –
letting go of the need to control situations or
outcomes, having faith in people, being open to
direction and change
• ‘Telling’ Courage : Voice – raising the difficult
queries, providing a tough feedback and sharing
seemingly unpopular opinions

20. 20
Thank You!