Organizational Courage: how to model and grow it in your organization

In my work on organizational transformation over the years, I have found that the largest detriment to adopting new ways of working is the fear of the unknown. We may intellectually understand the theory being applied and know these new ways of working are helping businesses (including our competitors) succeed, but applying the new concepts puts us at risk of not knowing, of not being good at the place we spend the majority of our time.

In a word, it takes courage to drive past the uncertainty of doing work in a new way when what we have been doing has worked to some degree – after all, it got us this far.  

Building our skills in courage is well worth the effort. In good times and bad, organizations and individuals that display and foster courage are more successful. For example, studies show that companies that had the courage to hold on to staff and to make strategic investments came out of the last recession stronger than companies that concentrate on cost cutting and maintaining the status quo. And companies that are willing to make big moves are more successful than those focused on incremental steps forward.

How do we act in a more courageous way for ourselves and our organizations? If you lead an organization that needs to build its courage muscle, here are some ideas on how to get started:

1.     Define courage: What does courage look like to your team and organization? How will you know you are acting with courage? What are the behaviors you want to encourage, support and model?

Making it real: When launching agile teams we use the five scrum values (one of which is courage) to create team norms. We often break teams into pairs to answer the question “Because we value courage, we will…”. Then the larger group selects the most important behaviors that will demonstrate courage in their particular group or organization. These agreements should then be posted prominently to reinforce new behaviors.

2.     Model courage: Before you can ask others to be courageous, you must show that you are. What can you do to demonstrate courage? When and where will you share your wins and failures with your team and organization?

Making it real: Make a specific plan based on how you have defined courage and determine when and how you will share your learnings. Ending team meetings with time for true confessions and celebrations can be a hugely effective exercise. First, I share something that didn’t have the intended outcome and then talk about my plans for the next iteration or ask for help. I find once it is modeled others jump in. Then people share celebrations of what has worked, what they learned, what their teams are learning. This ends the meeting with energy to try the next new thing, even when we don’t achieve perfection on the first try.

3.     Reward courage: Does an employee point out the elephant in the room? Thank them. Does a team try a new approach? Celebrate the effort and the learnings, even if it is not a success. When people see courage is valued and rewarded, they will be willing to give try new and innovative work for your organization. 

Making it real: “Courage Chronicles” can either be a section in an existing communication or an agenda item in department or organization meetings that highlight individuals and teams that tried something new and learned from it, even if it did not work as expected. Putting small monetary rewards or something else that is of value in your organization will help show the importance of trying and leaning into the change.

When @Brene Brown asked 150 executives what they needed most from their leaders, they said “We need braver leaders and more courageous cultures.” What will you do today to build courage – in yourself and in your organization?

This article is part of Slalom Portland’s series on Leadership Agility, offering some concrete ideas for how leaders across an organization can apply agile principles. Earlier articles have covered limiting work in process, using reflection to build performance and servant leadership. 

Amalia Goodwin is the managing director at Slalom Portland. She has a passion for developing leaders and teams through a continuous improvement mindset and the practical application of thought leadership – making it real.