In a piece for HuffPost, author Susan Pearse quotes Aristotle, “courage is the first of human qualities because it’s the quality that guarantees the others.” She goes on to say that, “courage is acting in the face of fear. Sitting with the discomfort but working through it, not around it. Showing up fiercely and completely, bringing your vulnerabilities, imperfections and inadequacies, but not being driven by them.” Pearse talks about facets of courage – and as I’ve found, there are many.
On May 15, 2020, Aspen Institute’s Executive Leadership Seminars team hosted their weekly Connected Learning in a Time of Confinement discussion session, a text-based dialogue facilitated on Zoom – with participants joining virtually from across the United States, Finland, and beyond. The week’s topic: Courage and Sacrifice. Opening the discussion, Todd Breyfogle, Managing Director of Aspen Institute’s Executive Leadership Seminars asked, “What does courage mean to you?”
For me, courage manifests in many ways throughout life. In The Courage to Be, the first reading for the week, Paul Tillich writes that “courage to be is essentially always the courage to be as a part and the courage to be as oneself, in interdependence.” From Tillich to Victoria Safford’s The Small Work in the Great Work, we talked about the “little plots of ground, where we are maybe ‘called’ to stand (thought who knows what that means?)” Safford quotes Matthew Fox, who talks of “‘the small work in the Great Work.’” And, in The Jackal Mothered By the Lioness, Visnu Sarma presents a scenario for looking at courage from many perspectives, role of parent/guardian, as a sibling or peer, the role of ethics and morals in courageous action. We talked about the intimacy and risk wrapped up in relationships and being courageous enough to form something that may break or must be disbanded in the future to allow for ongoing growth and thriving in different ways. During our discussion, one participant quoted Sir Winston Churchill, saying, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”
So – what does all of this mean?
As I read and have contemplated what it means to be courageous, here are some of the things I’ve thought about and learned:
There are many types of courage. Intellectual courage can include a “willingness to engage with challenging ideas, to question our thinking, and to risk making mistakes.” Moral courage involves “doing the right thing, particularly when risks involve shame, opposition, or the disapproval of others.” And, physical courage, “bravery at the risk of bodily harm or death. It involved developing physical strength, resiliency, and awareness.” To name a few. Needless to say – courage for each of us can look different.
For me, courage is grounded in my “little plot of ground” where I have been called to be. Meaning, by naming and continuously focusing on aligning my vision, values, morals (calling), and spheres of influence, collaboration, and impact (plot of ground) – I can actively and most effectively contribute to the Great Work (for instance - a more healthy, just, hopeful society).
I think of Courageous Leadership as the ongoing search for harmony between different viewpoints - what’s on the horizon, and what’s up close and immediate. As Stafford said, a “place of truth-telling, about your own soul first of all and its condition, the place of resistance and defiance, the piece of ground from which you see the world both as it is and as it could be, as it might be, as it will be.” James O’Toole’s Executive’s Compass, which I was introduced to during Aspen Institute’s Executive Leadership Seminar in 2018, is a great exercise for thinking about the way we make decisions as leaders in a world of conflicting values, including how we think about tradeoffs, and the role of curiosity in understanding other people’s experiences and decision-making criteria. It is through this process that I continuously think about what the world is, and what it could be.
Courageous action often requires sacrifice - giving something up, so that we, or others, can experience even greater benefits in the long-term. As Louise Bogan said in The Dream – the final reading for the week - “But, like a lion in a legend, when I flung the glove // Pulled from my sweating, my cold right hand; // The terrible beast, that no one may understand. // Came to my side, and put down his head in love.” I thought about examples of personal sacrifice, and harkened back again to the Executive Seminar and the reflection I wrote following that experience. “Our analects, shared during our last dinner together, were inspired by the readings of Confucius, mine reiterating that belief. ‘Being visible can shift culture, often requiring that we trade comfort now so that future generations can excel beyond current limitations.’”
I think about Courageous Leadership as a venture (daring journey) – that includes uncovering the parts of ourselves that allow us to fully contribute and realize our calling. Tillich writes that, “We are threatened not only with losing our individual selves but also with losing participation in our world.” These words make me think about the impact of covering – the downplaying or hiding of at least one part of ourselves at work and in life. Deloitte’s report “Uncovering Talent” showed that over 60% of respondents said that they covered in at least one area (appearance, affiliation, advocacy, association). For me, when I was covering the queer parts of myself, downplaying my desire to present as androgynous (mix of masculine and feminine traits) – it took a toll on my mentally. It impacted my contribution to the organization I co-founded and now lead as a gay man, it impacted the joy I found in my work, it impacted my creativity and ability to innovate. Courage meant taking a risk, challenging cultural traditions of what it means to be a professional and part of the community, and potentially sacrificing opportunity in the short-term for benefits in the long-term. As Arlan Hamilton writes in her book, It’s About Damn Time, “Innovation comes from having the courage to be different and to do different things.” I’ve seen that to be true.
As you think about what Courageous Leadership means to you, I encourage you to contemplate some of the questions posed by Breyfogle and his team.
“What is the small courage within the great courage?”
And, “In what ways do you want to live with greater courage? Great sacrifice?”
In the Aspen Institute Leadership Meditation for May 17, which I read while out on the trails of Jefferson Memorial Forest, Brianna Curran says, “Rumi charges us with the task of evaluating our talents and our gifts, which are inherently precious but most valuable when dedicated to a work that brings us heat and passion. ‘There’s courage involved if you want to become truth,’ Rumi writes. What truths have you sought that require courage in their naming? What talents do you have that heat up and change you – becoming the elixir of purpose in your life?”
Over the past few months, as I developed 1x1 Courageous Leadership Coaching which I launched amidst the pandemic through Josh Miller Ventures, I thought a lot about the dimensions of courage listed above. About what it means to be courageous when the world requires us to continuously adapt, to be curious in new ways, to challenge our own assumptions about the future. Courage - as with most things - will be a lifelong journey for each of us. There is no “5 Easy Steps to Hack Courage” Check-List, because with each layer of progress, new challenges and opportunities will arise. Our understanding of the world and its complexity, and the vision and values that guide our leadership may evolve. I see the opportunity now as one that requires holding in harmony both small and great courage… because it is at that intersection that we’ll create the change we each hope to see.
Resources:
Learn more about the Aspen Institute’s Resources for Living & Leading
Watch Josh’s Read While Running video of the May 17 Leadership Meditation, created when out on the trails of Jefferson Memorial Forest
About: Josh Miller is a queer changemaker, public speaker, photographer, and outdoor explorer. He is the owner of Josh Miller Ventures and the co-founder + CEO of IDEAS xLab—an organization that uses the art of storytelling and community collaboration to impact public health. Miller’s work has been featured by The New York Times, the Aspen Institute, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is a Soros Equality Fellow, received the 2022 Nonprofit Visionary Leader Award from Louisville Business First, and was selected for Business Equality Magazine’s Forty LGBTQ+ Leaders under 40 and Louisville Business First's Forty under 40. Miller is a two-time TEDx speaker and has been described as a "force in our community.” He holds an MBA from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree from Bellarmine University. Previously, he served as an advisor to the Derby Diversity & Business Summit and co-chair for the Louisville Health advisory board’s communications committee.