Courageous Leadership: HONESTY
Hello Friends,
There is a lot going on in our world these days, and we know there is great cause for stress and anxiety. A chaotic world and uncertainty make for a frightening combination. When life becomes overwhelming, we need courageous leadership. If we think those in formal leadership positions are NOT being the courageous leaders we desire, we can lead ourselves!
Here are our four essential traits for courageous leadership:
Honesty
Consistency
Vulnerability
Consideration
Over the next four weeks, we will be introducing you to one trait per week. Although you may not be in a formal leadership position, these traits are also essential for creating a courageous life.
This week, we are looking at HONESTY.
Honesty may seem to be a trait that is self-explanatory, yet we need to take a close look at it because many people still find honesty challenging. Why? Because many governments, workplaces, homes, and relationships use guilt, shame, and judgment as their standard operating procedure. There cannot be honesty where there is guilt, shame, and judgment because of the possibility of honesty leading to punishment (something we all try to avoid).
Day-to-day, and especially in a crisis, leaders are the keystone of any nation, organization, group, or family. They are continually looked upon for guidance and security. Honesty plays an important role in this because honesty creates confidence in guidance, and without honesty, there is no security.
A courageous leader is one who can be trusted. Their yes means yes. Their no means no. They say what they mean and mean what they say. Trust and honesty go hand-in-hand: Nothing creates a foundation of trust like honesty, and nothing shakes the foundation of trust more than dishonesty.
Courageous leaders are not infallible and are honest when they make mistakes or an error in decision. They do not try to hide their faults or explain them away. They are not “too big” to change their minds and admit when they are wrong. They also say the difficult things, even when it may be hard to hear or unpopular.
We can lead ourselves in the same way.
Whether we know it or not, we are all doing the best we can with the awareness we have at each moment. Yes, we may make a mess of things sometimes – but we can always lead from within when we are honest about making a mess of things and by being willing to learn from our mistakes.
We can use Maya Angelou’s “When we know better, we do better” mantra whenever we discover we have been in error. Guilt, shame, and judgment keep us stuck and push us away from honesty. Being willing to consider a different approach – and admit our mistakes – can change our entire experience of life and all our relationships.
We’ve met a few folks who refuse to say they are sorry. Why? Undoubtedly, these people have been made to feel guilty, ashamed, and judged when they were being honest and are still carrying these wounds with them. When we are courageous leaders of ourselves, we can say we are sorry and mean it because we know we are not our errors.
Until next time,
Annette and Ada