Courage is an indispensable ingredient of leadership. By going beyond what is, by seeking what might be… managers become leaders. They ask fundamental questions about the appropriateness and efficacy of established practice and in so doing they jeopardize their own welfare - for social ire, not inspiration, is often the final and most consequential outcome of their effort.

Followers are deterred by that awesome possibility. They prefer to tread on a safer path. But, leaders, whatever their professions of harmony, do not shun conflict, they confront it, exploit it, ultimately embody it. Leaders are willing to make enemies. They must… be willing to deny themselves the affection of adversaries.

Courage, conflict and leadership are on intimate terms. It is hard to imagine organization regeneration without them. Courageous expression of alternatives penetrates organization inertia, producing a sharpened awareness of differences in either interests or values, and therefore conflict. When managed productively rather than destructively, the conflict signals trouble and may stimulate remedy; it invigorates, creating fresh energy for work; and it stretches imagination, producing new ideas, innovations and creative integration of intra-organizational diversity.

Leaders are active, not reactive. Their efforts are personal, intimate and invested with emotional energy. Managers/followers gingerly navigate their way through the system. Courageous leaders shock the system. Filled with passion, their efforts pursue alternatives to established practice, accepting conflict as a legitimate instrument of organization regeneration. Unlike followers, leaders aspire to the unprecedented, experiment with the unfamiliar and embrace the unpopular.

excerpted from
Managerial Courage
By Harvey A. Hornstein
John Wiley & Sons, 1986

As real as ideacide is in organization life, don’t bother to look for its meaning in any dictionary. It will not be there. It if were, then ideacide would be defined as the murder of an idea, prematurely, before it is appropriately and adequately explored. If ideacide occurs often enough, and at critical moments, it stifles courage and threatens organizational survival.

~ Harvey A Hornstein

Step Beyond the Silence of Fear encourages us to acknowledge the presence of fear at work and to be highly attuned to how denial masks it with silence. Particularly if we are in a leadership role, we can Step Beyond the Silence of Fear by skillfully talking with others about our fears and apprehensions and listening intently to others speak about their sensitive issues. When we hear “I could be fired for saying that!” or “We’ll get in trouble for that” we should listen carefully and Witness from the heart. Recognizing such awkwardness in others and ourselves is central to being fearless at work.

Stepping Beyond the Silence of Fear requires that we be attentive to how we conduct ourselves, alert to any mixed messages we may send that could confuse or upset others. Accepting criticism, listening deeply, collaborating with others, respecting privacy, discussing difficult topics thoughtfully, and being precise in our speech, all are how we skillfully and consistently build a workplace free from fear. In the end, to Step Beyond the Silence of Fear is to deeply appreciate the suffering many of us experience each day in getting our jobs done and to admit that we are worthy to be free from anxiety and fear at work.

excerpted from
Awake at Work
By Michael Carroll
Shambhala Publications, 2004

An old cat was in the habit of catching all the mice in the barn.

One day the mice met to talk about the great harm that she was doing to them. Each one told of some plan by which to keep out of her way.

“Do as I say”, said an old gray mouse that was thought to be very wise. “Do as I say. Hang a bell to the cat’s neck. Then, when we hear it ring, we shall know that she is coming, and can scamper out of her way.”

Good! Good!” said all the other mice and one ran to get the bell.

“Now which of you will hang this bell on the cat’s neck?” said the old gray mouse.

“Not I! Not I!” said all the mice together as they scampered away to their holes.

Approximately 1 out 3 employees who feel they work in an atmosphere of fear and retribution are likely to express negative feelings about the organization and 1 in 4 are likely to be less productive.

The largest single issue that people are reluctant to discuss at work is the boss’ interpersonal style; next is co-worker performance.

Men and women at middle class standards and above in the US and Europe now live better than 99.4 of the 80 billion human beings who ever existed. Yet, 66% of Americans told pollsters they believed “the lot of the average person is getting worse.”

A 2002 Harvard published study indicates that attorneys who practice mindfulness exhibit an enhanced ability to avoid adversarial mind sets when resolving disputes.

Over 11,000 people have completed the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction training program at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worchester.

Exploring the impact "forgiveness" has on the body and mind is a central topic of clinical psychology with over 1100 studies published in the last 10 years.