Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi 

Edition #20, July 2021

Did you ever want to push back on your boss about a new strategy? Or did you want to confront a colleague about their inappropriate behavior? Did you ever feel the need to advocate for a subordinate? Or to admit your own significant mistake to a senior leader? The underlying trait for these situations is having courage. In the new book “Choosing Courage- The everyday guide to being brave at work” (2021), Professor Jim Detert argues that courage may be the most important trait for leaders who want to do more to protect others, solve important problems, and pursue significant opportunities for themselves.

Detert defines courage as “taking action at work because it feels right and important to stand for a principle, a cause, or a group of others, despite the potential for serious career, social, psychological, and even physical repercussions for doing so.” Many people view courage as a rare trait that’s practiced only by exceptional people. Therefore, they keep waiting for others to do it, convincing themselves that “we can’t all be Mandela or Gandhi,” or that they will act courageously later when they have more power. This book maintains that we need to normalize acting courageously and see it as a possibility and responsibility for everyone.

Leaders need to build their “courage muscle” a little at a time by starting with small acts of courage that are safe from which they can learn. The book provides several evidence-based practices for deciding when to speak truth to power, for example. To create the right conditions for acting courageously, it is important for leaders to demonstrate warmth and competence. When people trust your character and know that you have consistently performed at a high level, they are much more likely to accept your courageous acts.

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Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Top Leadership Keynote Speaker. He speaks about leadership, teams and culture.