The Courageous Leader How to Face Any Challenge and Lead Your Team to Success

The Courageous Leader presents a much-needed reminder for leaders everywhere: it takes courage. Courage is not just about heroic acts in grandiose situations—it's about everyday, solid-as-a-rock support and leadership that motivates, inspires, and delivers. It's about taking a risk on a great idea, and it's about seeing opportunities in the day-to-day. Courageous leaders aren't necessarily the bold "Navy SEALS" of the workplace; they're the everyday people who lead steadily through rough waters. They don't seek out discomfort, but accept it as part of the process when it occurs, and still deliver exceptional results. This book shows you how to tap into your courage reserves and build your steel. Real stories of everyday leaders show you how it's done, and provide a new lens for seeing real strength in adversity—and practicing it yourself.

Tough situations do arise, but great leaders show courage every day. Keeping your strength in reserve for the big problems leaves you operating at less-than-full capacity the rest of the time—and your people deserve better. This book shows you how to exercise courage every day in small situations to build the unshakeable foundation of a great leader.

• Move beyond your comfort zone
• Develop your ability to focus through tough times
• Tap into your natural courage and hone your leadership ability
• Leverage your strength in situations large and small

The more you exercise courage, the stronger it gets; this book shows you how to use it every day to more effectively navigate small challenges—when the big problems arise, you'll face them with The Courageous Leader.

ANGELA SEBALY is cofounder and CEO of Personify Leadership. She has more than twenty years' experience in leadership development working with thousands of leaders around the world, assessing their unique talents and guiding them to the next level of performance. A natural leader, entrepreneur, sought-after coach, and trainer, she has held senior roles with leading organizations in the telecommunications, construction, hospitality, and oil and gas industries.

Foreword xi

Introduction xiii

Courage Is the Way

The Three Components of Courage: Diversity, Pain, and Choice

The Intention of the Author and This Book

1 The Business Case for Courage 1

The Fear of Discomfort and Pain

Pain Thresholds

Common Reactions to Tough Times

Uncommon Choices

The Big Temptation

Honoring the Courageous Leader in You

Assessing the Risks

2 The Courage to Get Unstuck 27

When Life Kicks You out of the Workplace

Stuck in a Paradigm

Pain During the Transition

Making Sense of Our Pain

3 The Courage to Take a Stand 45

So, What Exactly Are Values?

Actual and Aspirational Values

Why Values Matter in Leadership

Clarity on Values

Activating Our Values

4 The Courage to Be Humble 63

Arrogance in the Workplace

Intentions, Behaviors, and Arrogance

Arrogance Is the Birthplace of the Humbling Experience

Why Humility Matters

Minimize Self and Maximize Our Bigger Purpose

5 The Courage to Be Confident 83

Those People Complex

Confidence Comes from Self-Trust

Your Vote Counts, and You Get to Vote for You!

Confidence in the Workplace

Strategies and Tools for Building Confidence

6 The Courage to Delegate 105

Delegation Takes Too Much Time

I Feel Guilty Giving My Team More Work

I Love Doing It All—or at Least Being the Superstar

I Am Afraid My People Won’t Do It as Well as I Would

My Customer Wants Only Me

I Don’t Have People to Delegate to

7 The Courage to Give and Receive Feedback 123

The Big Temptation and Courageous Feedback

The Feedback Trifecta—Giving Feedback

The Feedback Trifecta—Receiving Feedback

8 The Courage to Be in the Middle (and Not Be in the Middle) 147

Much Th at Seems Personal Is Not Personal at All

Be a Bottom When You Should

Middle Between Two Ends

Middle Space and Courage

9 Grow, Recover, Repeat 169

Recovery in the Workplace

Indications We Need Recovery

10 Big Dreams, Big Moves 181

Big Dreams

Big Moves

Expect Success

Plan for the Worst

Build Your Board of Directors

Recalibrating

Making Your Big Move

Acknowledgments 197

Epilogue 199

About the Author 201

Index 203

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