For the past few weeks we have explored the need for courage in leadership, including last week’s focus: that courageous leaders are willing to face failure, and from it, to continuously learn and grow.
Another element of courage involves the requirement that those who lead must develop the courage of their convictions; a heart of courage that is built from a “moral center” within their personality. In other words, each leader must know for what they will stand – and why.
Without a “center of gravity” within their soul, a leader may flinch under pressure, compromise their personhood, or simply drift with the whims of crowd-sourced constantly changing cultural trends. And in so doing fail to truly lead.
A heart of courage is an internal North Star that will provide steady guidance to the leader when the pressure is on. Because the pressure will come. As it always does.
The heart of the matter is the heart of the leader. A heart built on one’s convictions which provide the source for the courage to lead.