The Everyday Guide To Being Brave At Work

Today brings a timely and compelling book, Choosing Courage, by Jim Detert, where he shares how to increase the chance of accomplishing something positive when acting with courage at work, while decreasing negative personal consequences.

You’ll learn the tangible and concrete steps to take, using a courage ladder (a personal roadmap of sorts), for how to have difficult conversations, engage in challenging situations, and embrace opportunities for courageous action in your workplace and in your own life.

Detert explains that his new book is a must-read for you if you want to:

Do more to protect others at work—whether colleagues, subordinates, or customers.
Do more to solve important problems at work, whether they be inefficiencies that waste time or money, internal processes that sap morale, or product or service choices that lead to dissatisfaction among current customers.
Pursue opportunities more frequently, whether that means taking “stretch assignments” or pursuing work in a different organization that better fits your talents.

In addition, there are two broad reasons to choose courage are legacy and regret, shares Detert. “Legacy tends to be about what we did. And, your legacy is what endures after we’re gone. It’s about what people say about you, how they remember you, and what they do or don’t do because of the impact you had on them.” And “research show that regrets, in contrast, tend to be about the things you didn’t do but wish you had.” This links opportunities for courage inextricably with the shaping of your legacy and your regrets.

“Admittedly, courage is risky, but it’s also hugely important for ourselves and for others. Choosing courage in key moments helps us build the legacy we want and avoid the regrets we don’t want,” shares Detert.

Some of my favorite parts of the book are where Detert teaches how to:

Create the right conditions.
Choose battles.
Manage messaging.
Avoid hot button words and phrases.
Set an example as a leader for taking courageous action yourself.

Jim Detert

Detert answered these questions for me about his book:

Why do you believe your book, Choosing Courage, is particularly timely?

Detert: Everywhere we look these days we see instances where we wish leaders at all levels showed more courage or did so in ways that were more positively impactful. Think of political leaders seemingly unwilling to step out of line with their party’s position or the loudest subset of their constituency, of government agency employees who don’t seem willing to speak truth to power when it counts, or many business leaders not taking forceful public stances about things like racism, mask wearing, or so many other important issues. And think of how many people today report being more angry with and detached from their organizations than ever before. In short, the need for more courageous action, done in ways that aren’t derailing and that might actually spur positive change, is evident all around us.

What is the most important next step you want readers to leave with after reading your book?

Detert: I hope readers will truly accept that courage isn’t the responsibility of a few, but of us all. There’s no innate personality trait that makes competent courage easy for some and impossible for the rest. I hope readers will accept that courage is required from us all, just like any other virtue, and that behaving competently in moments of courageous action comes through practice – just like success with any other skill does. The next step, therefore, is to accept responsibility to do something for a worthy cause despite it feeling risky and to get started now.

How best should a reader apply your book's workplace guidance into their personal life?

Detert: Many of the core ideas, and especially the tools, in Choosing Courage are just as useful in our personal lives as in our work lives. For example, the techniques for managing our own emotions, speaking in ways that connect and compel rather than offend, choosing our battles and timing carefully, or following up after difficult conversations are just as relevant for our relationships outside of work. Similarly, readers could just as easily build a “courage ladder” comprised on non-work behaviors they’d like to start taking. The idea that skilled courageous action comes from learning and practicing specific things related to how we feel, how we think, and how we behave is equally applicable in any domain of our life.

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

More Leadership Quotes From John C. Maxwell

The real gems in John C. Maxwell's book, Everyone Communicates Few Connect , book are the abundant leadership and communication quotes, such as these: To add value to others, one must first value others. People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude. All good communicators get to the point before their listeners start asking, "What's the point?" The first time you say something, it's heard. The second time, it's recognized, and the third time it's learned. In the end, people are persuaded not by what we say, but by what they understand. People pay attention when something that is said connects with something they greatly desire. Maxwell also says that: Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could . The book covers five principles and five practices to help readers so they can connect one-on-one, in a group, or...

Questions You'll Likely Be Asked At Your Next Job Interview

Many Human Resource (HR) managers have moved away from questions like "What's your weakness?" and prefer behavior-based questions , which ask you to: describe how you handled specific situations at your former jobs If you are about to interview for your next leadership position, be prepared for questions like these (from an article in Reader's Digest ): Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged . What was the situation, and what did you do? Tell me about a time you had to work with someone you did not personally like . If you could come to work with only three tools to get your job done, what would they be ? What personal and professional development have you been engaged in outside the workplace over the past year? Describe your Outlook calendar on a typical day

High-Performing Teams Are Made Of This

According to Ron Ricci and Carl Wiese, authors of the book, The Collaboration Imperative , high-performing teams have the following characteristics: People have solid and deep trust in each other and in the team's purpose--they feel free to express feelings and ideas. Everybody is working toward the same goals. Team members are clear on how to work together and how to accomplish tasks. Everyone understands both team and individual performance goals and knows what is expected. Team members actively diffuse tension and friction in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. The team engages in extensive discussion, and everyone gets a chance to contribute--even the introverts. Disagreement is viewed as a good thing and conflicts are managed. Criticism is constructive and is oriented toward problem solving and removing obstacles. The team makes decisions when there is natural agreement--in the cases where agreement is elusive, a decision is made by the team lead or executiv...

Decide

Many years ago, I worked with a person who could not make decisions. Neither big nor small decisions. That indecisiveness paralyzed our business in many ways. Unfortunately, the book, Decide: Work Smarter, Reduce Your Stress, and Lead by Example , had not been published. Had it, I would have shared it with my co-worker. Decide , published this past February, teaches readers how to make better decisions based on the real results they want to experience. The author, Steve McClatchy, explains how to use the two forms of human motivation -- Gain, or Prevent Pain , to make more effective decisions. For example, he demonstrates how inserting a Gain task in the middle of a Prevent Pain day can give you the energy you need to move forward and make the Prevent Pain tasks take less time through motivation. Deeper into the book, you'll be reminded about not only the problems with procrastination, but also about the benefits of procrastination, and, if you are ...

Seven Ways To Be A Collaborative Leader

Edward M. Marshall 's book, Transforming The Way We Work -- The Power Of The Collaborative Workplace , remains relevant today, more than a decade after Marshall wrote it. Particularly useful is the book's section that teaches readers how to be a collaborative leader. Marshall says that there are seven different, important roles and responsibilities of collaborative leaders when leading teams , and those leaders should select the appropriate style to meet the team's needs. The seven roles are : The leader as sponsor -- You provide strategic direction, boundaries and coaching for the team. You also monitor progress and ensure integrity in the team's operating processes. The leader as facilitator -- You ensure that meetings, team dynamics, and interpersonal relationships function effectively. You also ensure internal coordination of activities among team members. The leader as coach -- You provide support and guidance and you serve as a sounding board. The lea...

5 Compelling Benefits Of Having An Ethical Culture

In Andrew Leigh's book, Ethical Leadership , he provides these compelling and important benefits of having an ethical culture in your business/organization: Customers prefer dealing with companies who put ethics at the center of their culture. Most employees would prefer to earn less working for an ethical company than being paid more and working for an unethical company. More than one in three people at work say they've left a job because they've disagreed with the company's ethical standards ( Trevino, L and Nelson, K - 2011 ) If you adopt an early warning system against misconduct it reduces the risk of you facing expensive litigation. An ethical culture helps you make your company a strong affirming place to work in. "The foundations of an ethical culture include values, attitudes, meaning, behaviors, purpose, and management practices," explains Leigh.

Six-pillar Roadmap For How To Move From Merely Surviving To Truly Mattering

In the new book, The Mattering Effect: Creating A Life Of Meaning And Worth , podcaster and author John R. Miles reframes today’s most common struggles and empowers individuals and institutions alike to break bad habits and reclaim a sense of worth and belonging. “Organizations have spent the last decade chasing 'engagement' and 'psychological safety,' yet global productivity is stalling and 60% of employees report they do not feel valued in the places where they spend their days,” shares Miles. He calls this “The Great Erasure”—a condition where high-achievers become highly visible to the organization while becoming invisible to themselves. In addition, Miles argues that many of today’s most common struggles—burnout, anxiety, loneliness, and disengagement—are not personal failures or mindset problems. They are the result of unmattering: the gradual erosion of felt significance within modern systems that reward performance while overlooking presence. Fortu...

Make It Easy For Your Employees To Volunteer

Start planning now for this year's National Volunteer Week, April 15-21 . That's the week when nonprofit organizations throughout the U.S. will celebrate and honor their volunteers. If you are not already volunteering, what a great time to start. Make a commitment to yourself to start volunteering before that week starts! And, if you are a workplace leader who supports a volunteer program at your business, you already know that by encouraging employees to give back to your community you are: building teamwork motivating employees attracting new hires In fact, job seekers much prefer companies that have a strong volunteer program. And, a growing number of businesses are rewarding employees who volunteer by giving them extra vacation time and other incentives. Fortunately, throughout the U.S. there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities where employees can contribute individually, or where leaders can organize teams of employees to volunteer together on a routin...

Coherence: The Secret Science Of Brilliant Leadership

Coherence: The Secret Science of Brilliant Leadership is the new book by author Dr. Alan Watkins . Trained as a medical doctor, Watkins is now an honorary senior lecturer in neuroscience and psychological medicine at Imperial College, London and an affiliate professor of leadership at the European School of Management, London. According to Watkins, coherence is the biological state achieved when elite performers experience maximum efficiency and super effectiveness, where body and mind are one . Coherence provides one of the most unique approaches to showing leaders how to be younger, smarter, healthier and happier -- which gives them the power to make decisions under pressure and achieve sustainable success. Prepare to spend quality time reading Coherence . It's not light reading. Kind of feels like a medical text book in parts. But, it's worth your commitment to it. I particularly found useful Watkin's discussion on culture , where he w...

Good Coach Versus Bad Coach

Former Verizon Wireless CEO, Denny F. Strigl offers these tips for how to be a good coach to an employee. He explains that good coaches help performers by : Keeping them focused. Giving them objective, helpful feedback. Acting as a sounding board for new approaches. Identifying blind spots that may be holding the performer back. Reinforcing key values, principles, and behaviors that improve performance. Recognizing positive behavior and performance. Providing encouragement after setbacks and failures Setting "stretch" goals. Acting as an accountability partner. Strigl believes that some managers fail in their coaching roles because they : View coaching as babysitting. See coaching as only correcting performance. Don't spend enough time with their employees. Are reluctant to criticize. Have social relationships with their employees. Have a "sink-or-swim" philosophy. Believe coaching is not helpful or meaningful. "Coaching may...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog