72. Courageous Core Model

Key Definitions

Courage, or bravery, is the quality of overcoming fear – it is the psychological strength to act despite experiencing a feeling of dread. People are courageous when they sense that they face an unsafe situation and still maintain their ability to function.

Soldiers, firefighters and police officers must sometimes deal with a lack of physical safety, but everyone must regularly deal with a lack of psychological safety. People can feel psychologically unsafe if they fear negative social reactions, such as disapproval, rejection, blame and retribution.

Conceptual Model

The Courageous Core Model builds on the Psychological Safety Compass (Meyer’s Management Models #40), that outlined four common fears (below in dark blue) and the four related types of psychological safety that leaders should strive to provide to the people around them (in light blue). But while the Psychological Safety Compass highlighted the role of the leader in creating a safe environment, the Courageous Core Model emphasizes the responsibility of every individual to act bravely. The model suggests that no environment can be made entirely safe, so people need to build up a courageous core to dare to function despite their fears. The less safety on offer externally, the more courage that will be required internally.

Key Elements

The four types of courage required are the following:

1. Authenticity Courage: Dealing with the Fear of Disapproval. Everyone would like to be accepted for who they truly are, without the need to live up to other people’s expectations. However, in many circumstances, behavioral norms are strict, people are judgmental, and you will be pressured to conform to preconceived notions of how things should be. But instead of caving in to this looming social disapproval, you can exhibit authenticity courage, by staying close to your genuine self. This can include looking and sounding different, coming from a different background, and having different thoughts, opinions and feelings.
2. Interaction Courage: Dealing with the Fear of Rejection. Even introverts like it when it is easy to talk to other people and everyone feels at ease in each other’s company. However, in many situations, social interactions are far from smooth, as status differences and group affiliations come into play, giving you a signal that you are not part of the in-crowd. But instead of avoiding people because of the fear of being rejected, you can exhibit interaction courage, by trying to connect, nevertheless. This can range from simply striking up a conversation, all the way to asking to be included in others’ circle or club.
3. Initiative Courage: Dealing with the Fear of Blame. To get things done, people need to make decisions and take actions, but there is always a danger that mistakes will be made and/or that things will go wrong. In many situations, the first response to a failure is not to search for a solution, but to seek out the guilty, so taking on responsibilities can be rather risky. In the same way, making tough choices can be dangerous, as dissatisfied stakeholders will vent their anger at the decision-maker. Yet, instead of shying away from taking action, you often need to show initiative courage and risk taking some of the blame.
4. Confrontation Courage: Dealing with the Fear of Retribution. It is in the clash of ideas and perspectives that new insights develop, and creative solutions are formulated. So, you would expect that challenging people’s views and asking tough questions would be seen as valuable aspects of group interaction. However, in many circumstances, such diversity of opinion is seen as disruptive and disrespectful, so needs to be suppressed. But instead of faking consensus to avoid the threat of retribution, you can exhibit confrontation courage, by posing uncomfortable questions and suggesting unpopular alternatives.

Key Insights

• Courage is about overcoming fear. Being courageous doesn’t mean you’re not scared, but rather that you have the willpower to act despite being scared. Courage is the quality that makes you choose fight over flight when confronted with a dangerous situation.
• Courage is required when safety is lacking. Without danger, courage is not required. But the more unsafe a situation, the more courage is required to act. Situations can lack physical safety, but more often people need to overcome a lack of psychological safety.
• Courage is about overcoming four types of fear. People can have two types of social inclusion worries, namely the fear of not being accepted for who they are (fear of disapproval) and not being welcomed as social counterpart (fear of rejection). They can also have two types of fairness worries, namely the fear of being unjustly condemned for actions they have taken (fear of blame) and unjustly retaliated against for speaking up (fear of retribution).
• Courage also comes in four types. Fear of disapproval can be countered by daring to be yourself (authenticity courage), fear of rejection by daring to engage with others (interaction courage), fear of blame by daring to take decisions and responsibility (initiative courage) and fear of retribution by daring to express opinions (confrontation courage).
• Courage comes from the inside, safety from the outside. Leaders can try to create a safe environment, but people need to strengthen their inner core of courage themselves. Resilience to danger starts with taking responsibility for building one’s own brave heart.