Being a Leader Requires Courage
Being a leader requires acting in the face of uncertainty, doubt, fear, criticism and overwhelming obstacles. This courage is what makes certain leaders great.
The best leaders exhibit remarkable courage. That statement might sound surprising, as people often assume leaders tell their subordinates what to do. That thinking implies that the employees of the company or the athletes on a sports team are the ones exhibiting the courage, since they are the ones who have to perform their duties to get the job done.
In every walk of life, though, leaders must display courage in everything they do. Maybe they aren’t doing the grunt work themselves, but they demonstrate courage in other ways.
It can be the courage to pursue an ambitious goal, one that does not seem possible to his or her team. It might be the courage to make difficult, unpopular decisions because he or she knows it’s the right thing to do. It might be the courage to make mistakes, knowing that only by taking risks can true success be achieved. Or it might be the courage to follow his or her own path and not one expected by colleagues and outsiders.
Being a leader requires acting in the face of uncertainty, doubt, fear, criticism and overwhelming obstacles. This courage is what makes certain leaders great.
The courage to take on big challenges
“When an opportunity presents itself, approach the challenge not with concern about the outcome but with courage to do your best.”
Nick Saban, Alabama head football coach, winner of six NCAA national championships, tied for the most all-time in the modern era
Ronda Rousey was an Olympic bronze medalist in judo before turning her attention to mixed martial arts. She quickly became the first female champion in UFC history and the face of the sport.
Because of the brutal nature of some of the fights, Ronda was often asked if she somehow had no fear. Instead, she claimed just the opposite. She feared many things, including the fear of getting hurt by her opponent. She just didn’t let that fear stop her.
Ronda chose to use fear as motivation. She took fear head on.
She realized that while her opponents in the octagon could hurt her, fear itself could not. She would not let her fear control her. She acted in spite of her fear.
“Acting without fear is called recklessness. Acting with fear is called courage.”
– Ronda Rousey, first female champion in UFC history and Olympic bronze medalist in judo
U.S. Women’s National Team star Carli Lloyd fought those same doubts and fears during her soccer career. Like everyone else, she had failures and setbacks. But instead of letting those challenges stop her from moving on and improving, she went back to work. She refused to give in to the negativity that often filled her head. She had the courage to persevere.
That courage and persistent effort guided Lloyd to becoming a two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, and two-time FIFA Player of the Year.
Former Notre Dame head football coach Lou Holtz noticed two qualities of some of the best players he ever recruited. All of them wanted to compete with the best players and teams. That trait isn’t surprising. What might be surprising is that Holtz observed they all questioned their ability to play at that level.
“During a person’s lifetime, there are only a couple of opportunities that come your way. If you possess the courage and self-confidence to grasp them, they can change your life.”
– Lou Holtz, national championship-winning head coach at Notre Dame, college football TV analyst, and the only coach to lead six schools to bowl games
Holtz told the recruits that such doubt was common, even among truly gifted players. But instead of letting that doubt paralyze them, he implored them to have the courage to take advantage of the opportunity to take on the best opponents. After all, he reminded them they couldn’t taste victory without risking defeat.
Lou reminded his players that superstars accept challenge happily, no matter how hard it might appear. These challenges build character and fortitude.
Have the courage to take on seemingly unbeatable odds. Trust that even if you don’t succeed this time, you will learn and improve, giving you a much better chance of success next time.
The courage to make difficult decisions
“I only know that a good leader is one who isn’t scared of the consequences of their decisions. They make the decision that their intuition tells them, no matter what happens.”
– Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City Football Club, and manager of teams which hold the records for most consecutive league wins in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League
Being a leader isn’t easy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a CEO of a Fortune 500 company and lead thousands of employees across the country. You could be a teacher in charge of guiding and leading 30 young students. You could be a coach of a perennially successful football team and the 90 athletes who suit up for battle each week. In each situation, the leader must be willing to make hard decisions that are the best for the team.
Alabama head football coach Nick Saban says it’s the leader’s duty to do what’s right all the time, even if the consequences are great. He or she must act in the interests of the team and not the individual, even if the decisions aren’t popular. The leader must show the courage to stand up for his or her beliefs. And in making these decisions, the leader must present a vision that the team members accept and buy into.
John Wooden, who won 10 national championships in a 12-year period as head basketball coach of UCLA, called this courage to make decisions and take action “initiative.” He believed that leaders who take action when it is required demonstrate initiative.
These leaders use all the information at their disposal. They make decisions and take action without fear of failure. They know failure is possible, but even if they fail, they know that the adversity will help the team learn, improve and grow stronger.
“Making a change in your life is as easy as making a decision and acting on it. That’s it. You can always make a decision. And if that decision doesn’t work, you can make another decision.”
– Ronda Rousey, first female champion in UFC history and Olympic bronze medalist in judo
Following in the footsteps of her mother, Ronda Rousey took up judo as a child. Training in a judo gym in her California hometown, she quickly became a force in local tournaments.
Ronda didn’t dream of simply winning matches in local competitions. She wanted to be an Olympic champion. She knew she needed to leave her hometown coach to learn from the best trainers in the sport.
Ronda had been training with her coach, Trace Nishiyama, since she was 11. While he was among the best at teaching drop shoulder throws, he recognized that some coaches knew other moves better than he did. He encouraged Ronda to learn from them too.
By the time she was 16 years old, Ronda knew she had to find a world-class coach. She wanted to train in Boston with Jim Pedro, who trained his son to become a world champion. Ronda’s mom agreed with the change.
“At some point, you’ll have to move on. That’s a mistake people make. They get comfortable and stay at the same place a long time. But after a while, people run out of what they can teach you. Eventually, you’ll know ninety percent of what a coach can teach you. When that happens, you’re best served going somewhere else. The new coach might not be any better than the one you have, but he or she will be able to teach you something you don’t already know. That’s what it takes to improve. You’ve always got to be looking ahead to that next step.”
– AnnMaria De Mars, the first American to win a World Judo Championship, and the mother of Ronda Rousey
Ronda walked into her gym and explained to Trace that she was leaving and moving to Boston to train. By the end of the conversation, she was in tears.
Trace put his arm around her and simply responded, “You got to go to grow, kid.”
Sometimes the hardest decisions are the ones you need to make the most. Have the courage to make those decisions.
The courage to make mistakes
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
– John Wooden, head coach of the UCLA basketball team, winner of 10 national championships in a 12-year period, and seven-time national coach of the year
Leaders have the courage to take risks, and with risk comes mistakes. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden understood that mistakes come with the territory. But he didn’t want his players to fear making mistakes. In practice, he wanted them to be aggressive. He wanted them to show fight and take initiative. That attitude would lead to mistakes, but if they kept pushing themselves, they would improve as a team.
Wooden’s coach when he was a player at Purdue University, Piggy Lambert, instilled a philosophy in him that he carried into UCLA. “The team that makes the most mistakes will probably win.”
The same principle applies to individual success. If you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t doing anything, Wooden argued. “Mistakes come from doing, but so does success.”
It should go without saying that you don’t want to make the same mistakes over and over. You should learn from your mistakes to be excellent in any field.
Jerry Rice was not an instant success in the NFL. In a preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams during his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers, he dropped several passes in the first half. Head coach Bill Walsh recalls Rice crying in the locker room at halftime. But Jerry went back on the field and kept running hard and trying to make every catch. A few weeks later, Rice and the 49ers took on the Rams again in a regular season matchup. He set a number of 49ers records for receptions in that game.
Bob Bowman, the coach who trained 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, keeps track of every aspect of his swimmers’ practices — how each practice went, what drills worked, what didn’t go well. This recordkeeping helped his swimmers and him avoid repeating mistakes. It made the subsequent training sessions better and better.
University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and his staff spend hours on Sundays watching every play from the previous game and grading each player’s performance on every play. They note things each player did well or poorly, right or wrong. Then they spend a couple of hours every Monday morning with the players reviewing game film and teaching what each one could do better. They spend the first 15 minutes at the start of practice on Monday afternoons fixing those mistakes on the field.
Then Saban and the Crimson Tide team move on and prepare for their next opponent.
Does this process of fixing mistakes work? Nick Saban has won six NCAA national championships, tied for the most in the modern college football era.
Have the courage to take action, even though you know you will make mistakes along the way. Identify your mistakes, and work to get better each time. These mistakes will help you grow, not set you back.
The courage to be yourself and follow your own path
“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”
– Vince Lombardi, head coach of the Green Bay Packers and winner of five NFL Championships, including the first two Super Bowls
Valorie Kondos Field was never a gymnast — not as a kid, not in high school or college. She was heavily involved with ballet in her early life. Using her experience as a dancer, she started working as a choreographer for the UCLA gymnastics team. After three years as an assistant, Dr. Judith Holland, UCLA’s associate athletic director, offered “Miss Val,” as the gymnasts called her, the head coaching position.
Coaching a group of high-level athletes was new to her, so she studied and tried to emulate other coaches she saw who she believed were successful. Like they did, she would yell quotes at her athletes. “Go hard or go home” and “winners make adjustments, and losers make excuses” were among her favorites. In coaching like they were, she considered herself a fake. Kondos Field wasn’t being herself.
In her first few years as UCLA gymnastics head coach, the team struggled. She had taken a successful team and made them worse. In her first season, UCLA finished last at the NCAA championships. The next year, UCLA failed to even qualify. After only two seasons, she decided to resign.
On her way to Dr. Holland’s office to turn in her official resignation, she walked through the Student Union. There, she found one of Wooden’s books, They Call Me Coach. She picked it up and started reading.
Valorie Kondos Field read Wooden’s definition of success. “Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you’re capable.” She read it again. And again. Each time, she focused on how much Wooden emphasized “you.”
Only you can define what success is for you. And you must follow your own path to reach it.
She realized that in trying to imitate who she thought were perfect coaches, she wasn’t being herself. She instantly decided she wanted to start over, coaching her female athletes using her own style and personality.
Valorie Kondos Field has now guided UCLA women’s gymnastics program to seven NCAA national championships.
“Everything positive in my life has come from something I intentionally chose to do. Intentional choice comes from being able to honor your own voice.”
– Valorie Kondos Field
One of the aspects of her coaching that resonates so much with her athletes is that she allows them to show their own personalities. Under her guidance, UCLA gymnastics always pushes the envelope as far as the attire the gymnasts wear during meets. But she also allows her athletes to find their own unique looks.
She had a gymnast name Sadiqua Bynum, a muscular black gymnast. She wanted Sadiqua to find a look that showed both her strength and artistry. She chose a “faux hawk,” putting her hair straight up in the middle.
Sadiqua was adopted and raised by white parents. She always felt different from other gymnasts. Her coach letting her find her own look gave her confidence and courage she didn’t have before. The gymnast became so emboldened by her new strength that she had her head shaved into a real mohawk.
She became an all-American gymnast under Kondos Field’s guidance.
After the 2016 season, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Bart Connor told Kondos Field, “You have the most diverse team.” But he wasn’t referring to the different ethnicities of her gymnasts. “I’m talking about how you encourage them to develop and celebrate their own personal style,” Connor explained. “Your team proves that celebrating diversity can actually be unifying instead of divisive.” Miss Val believes it’s the greatest compliment she has ever received as a coach.
This life each of us is living is our own. Rather than pursuing goals other people choose for us — our parents, our boss, our friends — we must be true to ourselves. If some goal resonates deeply with us, it will energize us to pursue it with everything we have.
Take some time to reflect and decide what YOU really want in life. Have the courage to choose how you are going to achieve it. Then take action.
The courage to be a leader
In whatever field you work in, have the courage to stand up and lead. Whether it’s a team of hundreds of employees, a small division in a company, 10 to 12 athletes on your sports team, or you are simply trying to set a good example for others, be willing to go for broke. Take on seemingly insurmountable challenges. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Make hard decisions and accept the consequences. And always try to be yourself and follow your own path to success.
If you possess and continually exhibit this courage, you will become a champion in sports, business and life.
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