Courageous leadership is not an innate trait but a measurable and teachable skillset rooted in self-awareness, vulnerability, living by one's values, and serving others. The biggest obstacle is not fear, but the 'armor' leaders use to self-protect when feeling uncertain or exposed, such as perfectionism or rash decisiveness.
Research shows that most adults can only identify three core emotions (happy, sad, pissed off), while a lexicon of 85-90 is necessary for true understanding. This lack of emotional granularity is a major deficit, as the ability to accurately name feelings is a prerequisite for empathy, compassion, and building resilience after setbacks.
The skill of systems thinking is declining among senior leaders, leading to organizations with closed boundaries that reject external feedback. This creates 'self-referencing systems' that believe they know everything, which is cited as a key reason for the 90% failure rate of recent corporate AI investments.
In today's complex environment, there's a critical distinction between simple action ('Get Shit Done') and strategic impact ('Get Strategic Shit Done'). The most effective leaders create time not by moving faster, but by developing anticipatory and situational awareness, similar to elite athletes who seem to slow down the game.
Keep pulling the thread on Brené Brown.