‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’ – Nelson Mandela.
From realizing your greatest weaknesses to tackling indefinite risks that would change the course of your life, you need courage.
“What is courage?” you may ask. Courage is the unwavering feeling within you that allows you to overcome fears, take risks, and go beyond the boundaries where your ultimate goal lies.
As leadership is concerned, courage is the ultimate weapon that allows you to shoot down any obstruction that comes your way and get past the enemy (FEAR) unscathed.
Courage is what the followers want you as a leader to exude so that they may rely on you or your decisions without hesitation.
With courage, you can foster trust in your team, stir motivation in them, and set an example for them to follow.
Most importantly, courage is something that empowers a leader to follow their guts, make bold decisions, and put forth ground-breaking ideas or solutions.
In a nutshell, courage is what defines true leadership.
If you want to reinforce your leadership skills and instill courage in your team, you first need to overcome the fears that hinder your path.
1. The Fear of Facing Reality
Organizations, regardless of their size, face ups and downs from time to time. Hence, there will be tough, intimidating, and distressing situations that demand mastery of embracing reality and mastery of conquering fear.
In those times, the followers look up to only one person they can count on, and that person is their leader.
If you fail to show these traits in such situations, you will end up losing your goals and disappointing your team as well.
Therefore, tackle reality head-on and stand tall against the rough winds of adversities to achieve what lies beyond.
2. The Fear of Not Knowing Everything
One of the greatest fears that keep you one step behind from being a great leader is the apprehension of not knowing everything.
This fear is usually followed by the 1st fear (accepting reality) because had you accepted reality, you would have known, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates.
In other words, no matter how knowledgeable one may believe they are, one may never grasp everything.
The worst consequence of this fear is that it keeps your knowledge stagnant because it keeps you from learning more.
3. The Fear of Acknowledging Feedback
Feedback is necessary to assess things from a 360-degree perspective so that valuable solutions or ideas can be put forward.
However, some people let their egos creep into their leadership style, which ultimately cost them their goals and the respect of their people.
In addition to that, it discourages courageous actions and innovations in your team.
So, don’t be afraid to listen to what others have to say.
After all, as a team, you are all moving towards one goal. If you want to encourage 360-degree feedback in your team, overcome the 2nd fear.
4. The Fear of Giving Credit
Due to the fear of losing personal recognition, some individuals don’t give credit where it is due.
When you don’t acknowledge the efforts of others, you can’t encourage growth, productivity, or even self-confidence in your team.
The same ego that keeps you from recognizing the opinions of others also keeps you from openly acknowledging the successes of those around you.
Remember that great leader knows that they are nothing without their team, and they know that if they have accomplished a goal, they were only able to do so because of the joint efforts of their team.
So, stop keeping all the glory of accomplishment to yourself, and share it with those who have helped you to achieve success.
You can clearly see how one fear leads to another and how each fear keeps you from attaining a true leadership style. So, face your fears and doubts, and new worlds will open to you – Robert Kiyosaki
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