The Red Badge of Courage is the famous book by Stephen Crane that describes Henry Fleming, a young soldier in the Civil War, and his struggle to cope with his fear and terror of war. He envies the wounded soldiers that have faced their fears and wear their blood-soaked bandages as a “red badge of courage.”

The French word courage means “heart and spirit.” Courage isn’t needed only on the battlefield, but also in the boardroom. According to the philosopher Aristotle, courage is the first human virtue because it makes all of the other virtues possible.

Courage can be expressed in the following ways:

• Asking for help—revealing your vulnerabilities so you can get the assistance you need. In The Red Badge of Courage, young Union Private Henry Fleming talks to his fellow soldiers about his fears and listens to their experiences and how they coped with the challenges that they faced. Understanding that he was not alone in his fear helped him to develop the courage to face and overcome his fears.

• Speaking the unspoken—telling your staff and your bosses the truth they don’t want to face. I wonder how some of our historic scandals, such as Enron and WorldCom situations, would have ended if people had told the truth and been listened to? Problems are never resolved by being ignored; they must be addressed.  In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about the need to face the brutal facts. The great companies did paint a rosy picture of the world they would like to be in, but faced the brutal facts of the world they were in.

By facing the brutal facts, leaders can deal with actual facts, analyze them and develop corrective and preventive measures. Yet, if we don’t face the brutal facts and don’t deal with reality, then we are setting ourselves up for failure.

• Sacrificing short-term gain for long-term success—beginning with the end in mind and being willing to accept risk in the near term and expending the required resources to ensure success at the strategic level. It is difficult for publicly traded companies to suffer short-term losses due to pressure from shareholders for immediate and continuous growth; however, it is sometimes necessary to accept short-term loss for long-term gain.  Continuous process and business improvement requires a long-term perspective.

Effective, courageous leaders recognize the moments that define them and their role, then they consciously act courageously. Here is what you can do:

• Affirm your strengths constantly. You are always on parade as a leader. Your people watch what you do, not what you say, and act accordingly. Be consistent in demonstrating the behavior and performance you expect from them.

• Take risks and overcome obstacles. Choose to be different! Action gets results. The biggest risk is to take no risks.

• Inspire a shared vision. You must have the ability to see your goal and clearly describe it to others. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, he described a vision of the future so vividly that those who heard his message had no choice but to pursue it.

• Speak up! If something doesn’t feel right, listen to your inner voice and tell those involved why you feel uneasy. Speak out on behalf of those who don’t have the courage or authority to speak out for themselves.

Some of the best advice for today’s leaders comes from the late President Ronald Reagan. The June 11, 2004 issue of USA Today listed some of the key leadership lessons left by President Reagan.

• Start with a moral foundation. Reagan had conviction. Whether you agreed with him or not, you knew he believed in what he stood for.

• The vision thing matters. Vision and strategy have gotten a poor reception by many corporate leaders, but Reagan’s vision was his North Star, which allowed him to focus on the important things in the middle of day-to-day operations. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there and you will be distracted by detours and side roads.

• Take the heat. Noel Tichy, director of the University of Michigan Global Leadership Program, says, “Those who transform the world or a company make the tough calls, such as firing the air traffic controllers. Great leaders have several qualities. One is making tough decisions.” Reagan was willing to stand up to the air traffic controllers’ union and was willing to shut down the government to force Congressional action on the budget.

• Be comfortable with yourself. Make light of your own mistakes; don’t try to be someone else. To quote Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true.”

• Maintain a sense of humor. Humor reduces stress and tension.

• Be a great communicator. Wess Roberts, author of Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun, says, “The absence of knowing what’s going on and why creates a toxic environment where distrust, suspicion, and fear overpower confidence, camaraderie, and courage.” Noel Tichy adds, “Successful leaders take a simple message and repeat it endlessly.”

• Delegate. Like a good horse in a race, give your staff their head and let them run. In developing the youth leadership of their units, the Boy Scouts of America teach adult leaders to “Train them, trust them, and let them lead.”

Just as the young soldier Henry Fleming did, we must have courage to face our fears and live up to the responsibility we have to our customers, employees and stakeholders. Business does not require us to have a blood-soaked bandage as our red badge of courage, but it does require that we have the courage to lead instead of being led.

		Bob Wangen is the president of Implement Improvement in DeWitt and a certified manager of quality/organizational excellence. He is a local consultant who specializes in project management, business improvement and leadership development. Learn more by visiting www.implementimprovement.com