CourageAbility – The ability to live your dreams and professional life the way you desire, while achieving your goals and exceeding in your ambitions and objectives. It is taking and empowering yourself and others to go where you or they have never gone before!
In 2011 we wrote our first book: 12 Steps For Courageous Leadership – Start Your Journey Now and thought that this is a good time to revisit the steps.
It’s not easy being a leader. It takes courage and commitment, the willingness to step out of our comfort zone, the need to readily adapt to change, and the obligation to develop our skill set and the skills within our organization. Below are 12 essential steps:
Step 1) Have and live YOUR dream. As leaders we need to have the courage to acknowledge and leverage OUR passion. If you are living someone else’s dream, have the courage to say it; it’s not a problem to accommodate others, but realize and acknowledge that it’s your choice.
Step 2) Document your goals. Put your goals in writing, communicate them, and enlist others to help track your progress.
Step 3) Commit to your goals. This can be difficult and requires taking action. Schedule the time in your calendar for what you’re committing to do. Saying you’re going to do something is not commitment; DOING it is.
Step 4) Understand your strengths and the strengths of others. You can’t do everything yourself; allow others to help you. Bring the experts into your life. Take a risk. Understand the strengths of others, help them grow, and allow them to take ownership.
Step 5) Communicate with Confidence and Clarity. This is our most important task and we’re continually working on it.
Step 6) Understand and manage conflict with a purpose. Without conflict there is no leadership. Conflict must occur for there to be growth, and it must be done in a healthy, honoring, respectful manner.
Step 7) Grow and Develop others. As leaders our job is to help others achieve their goals and objectives. Are you mentoring others to help them grow? Do you and your team have Individual Development Plans? Do you track their progress?
Step 8) Effective Delegation. This, combined with number 4, is critical. If you are doing everything yourself, you’ll get burned out. You may be surprised and find others can do it even better!
Step 9) Regularly solicit feedback and commit to developing a skill.
Step 10) Remain Controlled; composure is critical for a leader. Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be measured and developed.
Step 11) Reward and Recognize. Do you reward others based on goals, or just randomly? Rewards need to be consistent and based on the actions/behaviors/results you would like to see more of.
Step 12) Succeed and Learn from Failure. Risks need to be taken or very little change will occur.
Be courageous and take action on the 12 steps!
Stay safe!
We challenge you to live your life with courage, leverage it to achieve success, and make a difference!
How Are You Doing?