The 3 Types of Courage that Managers Need

An interesting management training technique involves asking people to walk over hot coals. The message of this potentially painful and dangerous “trick” of Hindu holy men is simple: management is really mostly about courage.

Courage is not a skill that is learned at business school or in the boardroom. Yet there are at least three types of courage that managers need.

The first type of courage needed by managers is the courage to fail. This is the courage to try something new, to experiment, to buck the trend, to trust one’s instincts. It requires confidence and belief in oneself, because failure can lead to humiliation and a broken reputation.

For many managers, the cost of failure to themselves and to others is simply too great. They may have a really good idea – for example, about product innovation – but the fear of getting it wrong prevents them from doing anything. They let others win the prizes. This lack of courage may be the result of low self-confidence, a very conservative mentality, or pressure from home.

The second type of courage – perhaps the most important and neglected form – is interpersonal courage. This is the courage needed to dismiss people, to tell them that they are performing badly, or to confront an employee who has bad personal hygiene.

More than assertiveness and counselling skills are required here. Interpersonal courage involves dealing with the emotions of other people , to say what needs to be said, and to show compassion. Many managers can’t face all this emotion. Some get others to do the task for them. Women often seem much better at showing emotional courage.

The third type of courage is moral courage – the courage to stand up for a moral belief. Managers often face moral dilemmas, challenges and temptations. They need the courage not to accept or turn a blind eye to actions that are wrong. This could include the courage to prevent a colleague from appointing a relative or friend to a position for which other people are better qualified. It could also include the courage to blow the whistle on fraud.

Strangely, few companies regard courage as an essential management skill. They may have ideas about assertiveness, negotiation and risk-taking, but courage is more than this.

Margaret Thatcher was courageous but also difficult to deal with. Courage can make leaders seem fanatical and intolerant. Also, there is often no clear difference between being courageous and being pig-headed.

Nevertheless, companies have good reason to be grateful to the manager who shows all three types of courage – to fail, to confront, and to stick to principles. And it can be the most unlikely people who do show courage, particularly when things go wrong.