Courage, Risk, and Leadership

There is "a significant amount of risk..inherent in attaining greatness" (Eden, 2008). I also believe the words of Warren Bennis in stating, "there's no such thing as a safe risk..that's an oxymoron..all courage is a risk". Without courage and risk, we would not have leaders. I can appreciate your experience and your stance with regards to leadership and management and how important courage is as a leadership trait. I would agree that people in management are either on their way toward a higher position or they have reached their pinnacle. I do believe that courage plays a large part in whether they will continue to rise or plateau. "The word courage comes from the French word for heart, coeur, meaning the ability to stand by one's heart or to stand by one's core" and those with courage possess a restlessness, vivaciousness, and brazenness about them that separates them from the pack and allows them to exhibit potential greatness (Lasley, 1999). Developing courage encompasses facing fears, exploring vulnerabilities, leaning into or toward risk, celebrating failure, and to continue to take action without ceasing (Lasley, 1999).

Reference

Lasley, M. (1999). Courage is the Foundation of Leadership. Leadership that Works. Retrieved September 16, 2008 from http://www.leadershipthatworks.com/Articles/Courage.htm.

Transformational Leadership

Steven Covey says of transformational leadership that the “goal… is to “transform” people and organizations in a literal sense – to change them in mind and heart; enlarge vision, insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make behavior congruent with beliefs, principles, or values; and bring about changes that are permanent, self-perpetuating, and momentum building.” My goal is to continually learn, to always be open to experience, stretch myself, be flexible, ask questions, practice vigilance, never settle, and to positively engage others. I hope that by living my life in such a way that I am always seeking to learn, change, and grow that I am able to do what is right in my life, in leadership, and to always seek to bring about positive change for myself and others. My desire is to be encouraging and supportive to others, to be individually considerate, and to empower others to be active participants in the midst of constant change. I will apply transformational leadership in my business by keeping relationships as the foundational structure to which all else springs forth as a result and I will apply innovation by being environmentally vigilant, always seeking to instill new processes, perfecting old processes, and taking risks to try new methods.