Good Morning,
Recently I have been listening to some books on tape (cassette). One of these books is called “Smart Leadership” by Michael Podolinsky (http://www.ebook3000.com/Smart-Leadership---A-Simple--Effective-Way-To-Inspire_23072.html). In one part of the tape, Michael talks about the relevance of the Code of Bushido, you know the code of the Samurai Warrior of Japan. He shares three tenets of the code, but depending on where you look, there are more. Below are seven of the primary codes:
Gi - Rectitude – Being a person of integrity, and being competent.
Yu - Courage – Having the strength to do what is right.
Jin - Benevolence – Being kind to others.
Rei - Respect – Showing proper courtesy and esteem to others who are deemed to deserve it.
Makoto - Honesty – Being truthful and trustworthy.
Meiyo - Honor - Living by this code in all that you do.
Chugi – Loyalty – Remaining steadfast in your allegiances to others, tenacity.
-Taken from (http://www.bigbearacademy.com/bushido-code.html)
Michael shares the importance of having courage in being a leader. The courage I want to focus on, though, is not in leading the team through difficult times and dealing with adversities outside of the team or department. Rather, it is the courage to face the internal department or team.
A leader needs courage to share difficult news and feedback with their own team members. This is hard because a leader often has to deal with these people daily either face to face or through some other format or medium. We have all heard the concept of asking someone to repeat something while looking into our eyes to make sure they are not lying. This is a concept of confrontation: that the fear or uncomfortableness of confrontation will make it harder for someone to hide falsehoods.
This same concept comes in dealing with those around us. It is sometimes hard to share bad news with someone you care about and work with daily. I know it takes a strong person to do this. In one of my early management roles my first assignment was to tell a very popular Temp employee that their services were no longer needed. Out of the gate, my boss knew that I would make or not by how much courage I could muster to take on this task.
Having courage also means telling your team members when they do something wrong or if they are creating a problem for others. It can be both frightening and awkward to tell someone about body odor or personal habits which offend others, but it with courage, it can be done.
Having courage as a team member is also important. If you have concerns or questions, you need to have the courage to ask them. You should find the right person, but try to avoid going around your bosses back. That usually ends poorly for either you, your boss or the working relationship.
Having courage now, doing the difficult tasks helps a leader down the road in two ways. The first is does not let problems fester over time and explode to full blown emergencies. Second, it shows the team that the leader is strong enough to face difficult challenges and forthright enough to share with them when something is going wrong or right. That is, working for a courageous leader can mean that you will not have to worry where you stand in the team, they will tell you.
Courage is vital to working on any team, but it is not a commonly owned attribute. Some folks cower from fear, and cannot face what they consider difficult situations. I saw a woman take a failing grade on a college project because it meant giving a presentation in front of the class. She just could not confront speaking in front of others. This, though is a common fear, and to help beat it, join Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.com).
If you don’t have courage, and want it, then realize it will take facing those fears. And like speaking in front of crowds, there are always ways and means to help you. If you need help, contact me.
Have courage!
Enjoy!
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