“What is Courage?”

This is a question I have been pondering and my thoughts are:

“Courage is when a person is willing to take a risk and leave their comfort zone to honor their commitment. When their “why” or their “personal mission statement” becomes more important than being afraid, therefore they take action.”

Rosa Parks was a courageous leader who was also a Catalyst for Change (creativity, commitment, courage) whose actions led to significant change in the global consciousness around Civil Rights & Racial Equality.

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama she made a conscious choice to sit in a seat on her local bus that was assigned for “white” people only. As a Catalyst for Change, she used her creativity to see a new possibility where others only saw “status quo” and changed her behaviour to foster a new conversation.

Her creativity enabled her to see a new possibility, and she honoured her commitment of “I am a Human Being who deserves to be treated equally with all other Human Beings”.

I believe that her clarity to live in her commitment (being treated equally) was the trigger for her to have the courage to act and sit in a “white” seat and have a courageous conversation with the Bus Driver who told her she had to move and she said, “No, I have every right to sit in this seat!” The Bus Driver then proceeded to have her removed from the bus and arrested. From her commitment, she became a “Catalyst for Change”, and changed history around the global conversation of Civil Rights and Racial Equality.

Rosa Parks was a courageous leader who took her inner strength and deep commitment to being treated equally and she stood up for Civil Rights and Racial Equality.

As an Executive Leadership Coach, I am very interested in how to unlock the power of courage, because, for me, people who can tap into courage can use their “Courageous Voice” to be “Catalysts for Change”. When people are self-aware of how to tap into their “Courageous Voice” amazing transformations occur.

Your Leadership Challenge for this week is:

I would love to hear your definition of courage, and any experiences you’ve had or know of that support your definition.

You can email me here, I looking forward to hearing from you!