Only for the BRAVE

Only for the BRAVE

Welcome to autumn and spring, depending on where you currently find yourself. We hope this new season will bring exactly what you need, either in business, leadership or your personal life.

I watched my kids on the monkey bars at the playpark a while back. At first, Dad had to hold them up and carefully help them sway from one bar to the next. Then after a while they become used to the movement required and want to do it themselves – they become braver. They start with the monkey bars that are lower to the ground and then swing and let go of the back bar whilst grabbing hold of the next bar. I cringe every time thinking – “please don’t fall, please don’t fall”. But when they get to the other side, I cheer their effort.

This got me thinking about leadership. Many conversations are going on that suggests leaders should be brave and courageous. But what exactly does bravery look like for a leader? Is it just jumping up and climbing the highest monkey bars you can find, taking the biggest risk, just going for it? For some leaders, it might be about bigger, better, higher, and more – but for many, it might not be.

I think being a courageous and brave leader often has to do with letting go. If I take you back to the playground for a minute. Think about how terrifying it is to let go of the monkey bar behind you so that you can grab onto the one in front of you. You don’t really know if you can trust the front arm to propel you forward or at least keep you holding on. But the longer you hold on to both bars, the more your arms become fatigued, the less momentum you have and the more you get into your head – the more you end up not going anywhere.

But what do leaders need to let go of to be brave?

1. Not asking for and accepting help: Being brave is about being able to ask the people around you for help. It allows other people to see you as fully human, but also being able to recognize and utilize the strengths of the people around you. Many leaders we interact with have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, which results in them thinking that they have to know and do it all. That is simply not sustainable and dramatically limits what you can achieve.
2. Their performance-based identity: This is a tough one. The reason public speaking is ranked as one of the top fears is because we are worried about what people will think of us. Our society, even more so in the social media era, is driven by public opinion. The result is that leaders can give other people undue influence over their identity. They don’t say things that may make people dislike them, they don’t disagree, and they don’t challenge conventional wisdom. Brave leaders are different (think Rassie Erasmus for example): they have a purpose-based identity. They know what they stand for, and they are willing to look silly, absurd and even crazy for it (again, Rassie). They are willing to have hard conversations, make difficult decisions, stand up against authority and tell people the things they may not want to hear; all to ensure that they stay true to their purpose and the cause of the people they lead.
3. Time urgency: I am not saying that leaders should accept late delivery or poor performance. But it is okay to wait (and think) before you act. Being brave is being able to say “not now”. In a culture where everything is fast-paced and instant gratification is the only goal – leaders who can slow things down, wait and make the best decisions can make a tangible difference in their teams.
4. The need for control: Brave leaders choose influence and inspiration over control. They choose to trust their team and their abilities, their processes, and their systems. Not blindly though. They know what they have to work with and they trust their abilities and capabilities.
5. The need for perfection: Bravery trumps perfection. Leadership requires perseverance and imperfection. It may take many tries at those monkey bars before we eventually get the hang of it, but if the aim was perfection from the start we probably never would even try. It is much more important and courageous to learn from your mistakes than to be perfect. It takes humility and a teachable mindset to step back from a situation and admit “I got that wrong”.

What else would make a leader brave and courageous in your estimation? We would love to hear what you have to say on the topic.

We would love to help you become a braver leader, get in touch. You can reach us at info@purposeworks.co.za.

At PurposeWorks we are all about Making You and Your Work Rock. Our focus is on Organisational Health and Design, Employee Centered Culture, Leadership Development and Performance Coaching. For more information on how we can help you create a work environment that rocks, develop a great team, become an inspiring leader or unlock your personal excellence talk to us at info@purposeworks.co.za.