{"id":4146,"date":"2012-10-09T10:06:50","date_gmt":"2012-10-09T15:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/?p=4146"},"modified":"2024-08-26T11:05:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T16:05:53","slug":"what-does-it-mean-to-be-courageous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-courageous\/","title":{"rendered":"What does it mean to be courageous?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SuperThe ability to influence others is a requisite skill for any project professional.\u00a0 It sure would be handy to be able to march around and dictate that people do this or that, but the fact is, when team members tell us \u201cYou\u2019re not the boss of me,\u201d more often than not, they\u2019re right.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, influencing is one of those soft skills that doesn\u2019t come naturally or easily for many of us.<\/p>\n

In their new book, The Influencing Formula: How to Become a Trusted Advisor and Influence Without Authority<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>authors Elizabeth Larson and Richard Larson describe a \u201cformula\u201d for how to influence:<\/p>\n

I = T + P * C,<\/p>\n

where<\/p>\n

I<\/span>nfluence = T<\/span>rust + P<\/span>reparation * C<\/span>ourage<\/p>\n

They explain how influencing requires developing relationships in order to build trust, preparing to interact with others to change their thoughts, actions or feelings, and courage to try to influence others when they may not agree with you.
\nThis certainly speaks to project managers.\u00a0 We need things from people who often don\u2019t report to us, or may be superior to us, or may not see our projects as worthy of support.<\/p>\n

In their book and in the corresponding Influencing Without Authority<\/a> class, considerable time is spent dissecting and defining these elements.\u00a0 Of the three, it\u2019s the courage piece that leads to the most challenging discussions with students.<\/p>\n

What is <\/em>courage?<\/p>\n

As noted in their book, the Larsons observe that courage has always been a dominant theme in literature and movies, from the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz<\/em>, to the Gryffindors in the Harry Potter series.\u00a0 Putting oneself in harm\u2019s way to do what is right is an act we admire and see as courageous.<\/p>\n

As they go on to explain, courage doesn\u2019t necessarily involve the possibility of physical danger.\u00a0 In the classic To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>, Atticus Finch demonstrates moral courage in his opposition to racism in the American South in the 1930s.\u00a0 Note the Larsons, \u201cSeen through the eyes of his young daughter, Scout, Finch shows courage throughout the novel: \u2018I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.\u00a0 It\u2019s when you know you\u2019re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When discussing what courage means in class, these types of examples come up and all coalesce into a generally agreed upon definition: The ability to face danger even when afraid in order to do what\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the \u201cwhat is right\u201d piece where I get stuck.\u00a0 As my very savvy students are quick to point out, what\u2019s right to me may not be right to you.\u00a0 We get into this ultra-relativistic place where anyone who takes a risk for what they believe is right can be considered courageous.<\/p>\n

Who, then, are the examples of courage?\u00a0 MLK?\u00a0 JFK?\u00a0 A military leader who sends others into battle to win a war against tyranny? A candidate for political office who takes an unpopular stand on an issue about which they are passionate?\u00a0 A project manager who makes a tough call on scope change knowing it may alienate a key stakeholder?<\/p>\n

To be sure, courage is the willingness to face danger or risk.\u00a0 But what did any of those examples expect to gain?\u00a0 Fame?\u00a0 Fortune?\u00a0 Wealth?\u00a0 A promotion?\u00a0 Does it matter?<\/p>\n

I think it does.<\/p>\n

Courage needs to be defined both by what one has to lose as well as by what one expects to gain.\u00a0 Yes, courage involves facing risks to do what is believed to be right, but it also includes doing so when the only thing that\u2019s certain to be gained is the ability to look at yourself in the mirror when it\u2019s over and say \u201cI did the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

To do something utterly brave and take huge risks when the likely outcome will bring fame, wealth, or prestige may take a lot of guts, but not courage.\u00a0 It makes someone a risk-taker, but not courageous.<\/p>\n

To say what others are afraid to say or do what others are afraid to do because you know it\u2019s the right thing, knowing that it will likely bring privilege, celebrity, or fortune, may make someone a great motivator or leader, but it doesn\u2019t make them an example of courage.<\/p>\n

So who are the truly courageous?\u00a0 Does this definition make the list unreasonably short?<\/p>\n

The list is plenty long, but it includes fewer names that are familiar and many more that will never be mentioned by those who didn\u2019t know them or written in the pages of any book. Most of the truly courageous are the people who take risks, go out on a limb, and say what others are afraid to say without an audience, stage, or crowd to cheer them on or watch with anticipation to see how things turn out.<\/p>\n

This is not to say that good fortune may not land on their doorstep after a courageous act.\u00a0 Indeed, they may be celebrated, admired, or emulated.<\/p>\n

But the greatest act of courage is one in which the only anticipated reward before going into battle, conflict, or danger is the satisfaction of knowing that what you are doing is right.<\/p>\n

So the next time I find myself soliciting a list of examples of courage and it seems that every risk-taker or person who ever put themselves in harm\u2019s way for what they perceived as right makes the list, I will apply a two-part lithmus test: What did they have to lose, and what did they expect to gain?\u00a0 I suspect that will cull the list considerably.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The ability to influence others is a requisite skill for any project professional.\u00a0 It sure would be handy to be able to march around and dictate that people do this or that, but the fact is, when team members tell us \u201cYou\u2019re not the boss of me,\u201d more often than not, they\u2019re right. Unfortunately, influencing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,211,12,1],"tags":[58,81,22],"coauthors":[140],"class_list":["post-4146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-influencing-and-consulting","category-project-management","category-risk","category-watermark-learning","tag-influencing","tag-leadership","tag-project-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4146"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11342,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4146\/revisions\/11342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4146"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.watermarklearning.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}