Successful leadership requires various skills. Confidence is necessary. If you don’t believe in yourself and your vision, no one else will. Communication is crucial. If you can’t tell people where you’re going, convincing others to go with you will be difficult. Leadership development, organization, inspiration, and hard work all set great leaders apart. But in our day, one trait is increasingly necessary for excellent leadership: courage.
Leadership should be easy. After all, solving problems is a leader’s specialty, and people are facing a myriad of problems today. You might assume people would be lining up for you to help make their lives better. But they are not. On the contrary, society is becoming increasingly difficult to lead for several reasons.
1. People are skeptical of leaders. Countless leaders have been exposed for immoral or distasteful behavior. Many pursued selfish interests, and now people distrust them. In fact, people are increasingly wary of leadership offices in general, not just of those who have mishandled their position. Politicians have reached new depths in approval ratings, as it has become evident that they are not as honorable as they claim.
If you take over from someone who failed to lead well, you will have to overcome headwinds of doubt and skepticism. In every leadership position I have undertaken, I have had to deal with the after-effects of the leaders who preceded me. In some cases, the previous leaders’ weaknesses or failures continued to exert an influence even after they left. I learned that resistance from people I led might not necessarily be a reflection on me but on those who had gone before me. It takes courage to address problems you inherited.
In general, the role of leader is not as esteemed as it once was. Simply holding an office once prompted a certain degree of respect and trust. Today, many new leaders must overcome the pervasive skepticism that characterizes society.
2. People view themselves as experts. The Internet has brought an enormous amount of information to people’s fingertips. If you don’t know how to reset your washing machine, a YouTube video can show you how. If your pastor told a story about Michelangelo in his sermon, you can fact check it on Google. If you disagree with your pastor’s take on the Sermon on the Mount, you can compare it to dozens of other sermons on the same topic online. The Internet has empowered people to challenge others who have had far more training and experience.
Many people will have strong opinions on how you should lead, even if they have never led anything themselves. How can you lead an organization full of armchair critics? It takes courage!
3. People compare you with other leaders. Thanks to the Internet, people have instant access to leaders from around the world. If you are a pastor, your congregation can compare your leadership with that of megachurch pastors around the world. If you are a business leader, your staff can contrast your decisions with those made by Fortune 500 CEOs. Of course, much of what can be found online is an idealized presentation of other leaders, which can lead to unrealistic expectations being placed on you.
4. Societal trends can produce enormous pressure. Not all trends are bad, but they can put pressure on leaders. Me Too, Black Lives Matter, environmentalism, and DEI all shook the workplace and created many new challenges for leaders. Suddenly, leaders were being evaluated in ways they never had been before. At times, leaders might not agree with the new trend and the ways it is expected to be implemented. For example, a CEO of a company might be accepting of transgender people but feel uncomfortable with allowing biological men to use women’s bathrooms. Whatever stance the leader takes will invite passionate feedback. Leaders of only a decade earlier might not have had to deal with these same issues.
5. The litigious nature of modern society. Throughout my career, I have had to fire some people. Each time, I had to consider the lawsuits that could result from my decision. Even grossly underperforming employees may feel outraged at being dismissed. On my first day at one job, I found a letter from an employee that was copied to her attorney. Before I assumed my role, this staff person had been placed on probation due to her multitudinous mistakes. She was unable to do her job, and she suffered numerous stress-related illnesses as a result. It seemed compassionate to release her from a job for which she was clearly unsuited. But as a relatively new administrator, I had to consult an attorney to make sure I was protected if I fired her. Fear of legal repercussions can make leadership particularly challenging.
6. Changing demographics. Twenty years ago, the groups of people under a leader’s authority were typically more homogenous. A large portion of the workforce was comprised of boomers who were motivated by similar rewards and incentives. Today’s workforce has more divergent concerns, motivations, and priorities. Leaders must find a way to effectively lead people whose values might be far different from their own. Leadership strategies that were effective 20 years ago may no longer be successful. In fact, those earlier practices may even be discouraged today. Great leaders must adapt their methods.
Challenge
Leadership is complex, challenging, and even bewildering at times. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart!
To lead well, three types of courage are required.
First, you must have courage to face issues. Some organizations face steady decline, yet the leader refuses to take a hard look at the root cause. If a pastor has been leading a church through twenty years of steady decline, it might be painful to admit that his leadership is the problem. It is often easier to blame others or to remain blissfully unaware. An institution in decline must have the courage to face reality, however harsh it may be.
Second, leaders must have the courage to make changes. People at a struggling organization may know that changes are necessary. Those modifications may be discussed often. Yet some people will inevitably become angry and defensive when those changes are finally implemented. It’s much like the national debt. Everyone knows it’s unsustainable, but if politicians cut back a benefit people are currently receiving, they may soon need to find another line of work! It takes courage to acknowledge an issue, but it takes far more courage to do something about it.
Third, you must have the courage to hold the course when you face criticism and opposition. Even when you are making the best possible choices for your organization, there will be people who vigorously oppose and criticize you. It takes courage to hold the line when fierce headwinds of opposition mount. Many leaders have caved under the withering pressure and threats from people who opposed their decisions. Yet few things are as demoralizing as leaders who shift their positions with the wind. True leaders make wise decisions and then stick with them until the positive results of the change become obvious.
Leadership has always required courage. Today, that character trait is more essential than ever before. If you don’t have the courage to face issues, make hard decisions, and stay the course till the end, you might need to find another line of work.
