MANAGEMENT
The exact opposite of courage is ‘cowardice’. Let me do some reverse engineering for this piece, by discussing firstly what cowardice essentially is? Thence it will easily lead us to a better understanding of the trait of courage. In this discovery between courage and cowardice we will examine, whether as managers do we need to possess courage as a characteristic of behaviour and response to situations.
R.L. Stevenson best describes cowards, ‘The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out to your battlefields, no crowds shout your coming when you return from your daily victory and defeat.’ How do we handle this on shop floor, with courage, conviction or cowardice?
When there is choice between cowardice or even with its closest cousin, ‘fear’ I have seen that bending towards fear has led to more unhappiness than that you assume to avert. Courage is a weapon. The cowards in your team will always refer to your brave stance as rash and indiscreet. To the cowards the brave is sinister.
A coward boss or colleague will invariably avenge through intimidation. These are the ones, who you would find disappear first in times of crises. In victory, though all cowards are courageous. Cowards die often. ‘Cowards die many times before their death, the valiant never taste death but once.’ (Julius Caesar-Shakespeare). Corporate bullies are cowards and cruel. Their greatest value is suspicion. What these fence sitters don’t realise is that no faint heart has won a fair lady.
There is no victory in cowardice. He that forecasts all perils as a manager will never sail the sea. Against this, ‘courage is what it takes to stand and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Wealth lost, something lost; honour lost, much lost; courage lost, all lost (J.W. Goethe). Courage is displayed by a manager when he has knowledge of what cowardice is? Napoleon-I had said, ‘Courage is like love, it must have hope for nourishment’. If a manager knows what is right and chooses not to do it, is a sad reflection of want of courage.
As supervisors of human assets, managers must appear as oak trees then be a sapling, willing and able to bend to the demands of the blowing wind. When in doubt, cowardice will demand leave it out but courage laced with intellect and wisdom will say does the thing- not shaking a tree out of fear will never get you the fruits. Wisdom and courage should be made equal partners when asked to make a pronouncement over a matter.
It is easy to be brave from a distance is a matter of cognisance. Courage is not in putting to death, any challenge or initiative but it is in the willingness of living up to it. Courage finds expression when as managers we are prepared to suffer and face, the challenge we put to fear.
To move forward you need courage. Many miss life turning opportunities by being gripped with fear of results. Exercising courage is not about battlefield, it is about dealing with conviction the everyday issues of the shop floor. We must choose between the option of living with honour or with shame. Cervantes wrote, ‘He who loses wealth loses much; he who loses a friend loses more but he who loses courage loses all.’
Bravery and courage in the corporate sector is not about being caught up with no choices- that is surrender; that is yielding, if you are afraid to take decisions that may be unpopular but good for the institution. Courage and resolution are the spirit and soul of a knowledgeable and virtuous manager. It is the ability to continue when others quit. Courage most often represents nobility of thought and purpose. Courageous managers are generous and never ever petty in their dealings with the team.
No wounds on back but only on the chest, is a hallmark of a brave manager. Harriet Beecher Stowe, writes, ‘Fortune, patience, persistence, determination, grit, stick-to-itivness these are the qualities that separate the men from boys, the winners from quitters and the successes from failures.
History records in gold bravery and cowardice as treachery. This article I must clarify is also not about physical courage. It is about the power of a manager’s ethical, moral and value based, courage. It harms no one unlike the propensity to do otherwise by those who are in possession of physical courage and power.
The frail in frame and physical appearance are many times more courageous leaders of people with an amazing sense of character built upon conviction. Our own Quaid e Azam Mr. Jinnah was very frail, weak in physical constitution but none could match his resolute bravery and courage.
As managers demonstrate moral courage to encourage truthful expression from team mates; also simultaneously the manager must remain in possession of courage to put everything on the line, to defend moral courage of himself and his colleagues.
Managers and supervisors are dream merchants; they must be in possession to not merely face the truth and reality of any market challenge but also carry on their faces a radiant hope. That’s the best measure of confidence. It always becomes to be the best motivation. Courage, adds serenity, calmness and grace to the supervisor’s demeanour. ‘Never say die’- relentless pursuit. No obstacles ever to be considered as non-removable. In the changing dynamics of market place, a courageous manager will show the fortitude to climb the rock- strewn road; he will show how to scale the insurmountable or stumbling blocks. He will convert all impediments to being stepping stones.
Also remember courage requires us managers not to ‘give back’ what you ‘receive’! It is about not rendering evil to evil or ill behaviour matched by equally vitriolic response. Ignoring ridicule and insult that is meant to derail you from your corporate objectives is a matter of courage. History, even corporate history remembers only the daring managers who by dint of determination prove how to stand against bellowing winds of distraction from the opposite direction of your planned pathway.
‘I mean courage of the higher order than mere physical endurance. The courage to say ‘no’ to my own greedy desires, to place conscience above expediency, to be reviled by the crowd, to bear my own misfortunes and those of others without bitterness or self-pity, the courage above all to offer everything for nothing, for an idea, a principle, a belief (Lord Listowel).
The display of courage adds several credits to the balance of the manager’s account of credibility. The pursuit of keeping courageous stance breeds hope, persistency in efforts, unyielding perseverance and a fortified will to never resign to failure. Some managers take cover of ‘accommodating nature’, ‘quiet leadership style’ and ‘high emotional quotient’ attributes, to mask their inherent cowardice.
Cowardice puts to death, teams, organisation and most often nations too.
The writer is a freelance columnist
