What Courageous Leaders Do Differently

Jim Detert

17 January 2022

Archived

14 min

PME All levels

BLUF

It’s the era of working-from-home and the ‘great resignation’—so leaders might need the courage to do things differently.

Summary

Leadership author Jim Detert argues that most leadership views today are less than sufficient in this new age of doing business, and it's time to re-think our ideas. For example, acting like a know-it-all isn't appreciated. Instead, Detert says you need to admit when you don't know something and apologize if you do the wrong thing.

Good leaders know their job is about doing important work on behalf of others and are willing to engage, delicately, in difficult conversations. Below are some starting points Detert believes are better options for today's leadership and business environment:

Courageous leaders display openness and humility. Leading people into trouble because you couldn't acknowledge you were afraid or needed help isn't courageous—it's dangerous.
Courageous leaders put principles first. Good leadership is about being trusted and respected for the defensibility of the values-based decisions you make.
Courageous leaders focus on making environments safer for others. Leaders should spend time creating safe conditions where their employees can feel confident of thriving.

Finally, courageous leaders surround themselves with and promote people who help them learn by challenging rather than flattering them. They reward rather than punish those who try new things, even when things don't necessarily go well.

Learn more about leading people.