Be Brave, Be Dauntless
Be brave. Be Dauntless. If you have ever read the now-movie book, Divergent, you will recognize the term. For those uninitiated, the book revolves around a dystopian society with different factions dependent upon key traits they wish to expound. Selflessness for Abnegation, Kindness for Amnity, Honesty for Candor, Intelligencr for Erudite, and Bravery for Dauntless. While the plot examines the fallacy of latching onto one particular trait, I want to take a moment to explore it.
What is bravery when it comes to leadership? Is it making the “tough decisions”? Is it being able to see the difficult issues? Is it allowing yourself to always be tough? I think it may be a little bit of these things and more.
What is more brave than being compassionate and vulnerable?
I remember a story where the CEO messed up big time. So bad that they lost money and jobs. He pulled together a meeting of every person and started of with: “I am so sorry for what has happened. I hurt you and the company. I promise you I will work with you to fix it.” The narrator explained that he didn’t remember what was said after but that he knew he would follow this man into oblivion.
While not every act of bravery need be quite so large, you can be brave in every day leadership too.
- Be willing to listen to feedback. Even the one you don’t want to hear. Be brave.
- Be willing to be transparent on mistakes and the work to fix it. Be brave.
- Be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and try something new. Be brave.
- Be willing to be your unique self versus what society says leadership should be. Be brave.
Leadership requires honesty, intellgience, selflessness, compassion, and bravery. Don’t be brave because I told you to. Be brave and see the positive it brings to your team and business. Are you Dauntless?
