What?s your Courage Quotient?
In the mid-1990?s, Daniel Goleman introduced the term ?emotional
intelligence? to the business world contending that our ability
to manage our emotions and relationships with others was twice
as important as our intelligence quotient (IQ) and experience in
predicting our success as leaders. Ten years later, we see
frequent reference to ?EI?, and have many different assessments
that will help us measure our own EQ ? emotional quotient. Most
of you reading this would agree that having a high EQ is at
least important, if not essential for those in positions of
leadership?formal and informal.
I agree and will further contend that equally important is
having a high Courage Quotient, (CQ).
In my home country, the USA, we entered the 21st century full of
optimism, somewhat carefree and ?fearless? particular since we
had successfully navigated the Y2K transition. And then that
fateful date, September 11, 2001, ?9-11? changed my country,
yours and our world forever. In literally a matter of minutes,
we went from a state of ?fearlessness? to one of total fear. And
when faced with fear, we gather courage.
On that fateful day and for many to come, we saw and heard
demonstrations of courage at its extreme. We saw how the heart
takes over, and we saw a spirit come alive. We learned why the
derivative of courage is ?corage? from medieval Old French,
meaning heart and spirit as we saw our firefighting
professionals run into the burning buildings, witnessed people
leaping for their lives from the 65th floor, and hearing of
others with the courage to answer the phone wondering if they
will hear the inevitable?.. It took courage to go on to the next
day, and the next?.
Courage is about heart and spirit. And it is about tapping into
that heart and spirit every day of our lives. I am probably
considered one of the lucky ones, for I have no personal story
to tell about loosing a friend or family member, or even fearing
the lost of one from the events of that day, and all that have
transpired as a result. Yet it is preciously those events that
threw me into fast forward on my journey of courage, and put
courage forever more on my radar screen.
Fast Company dedicated their September 2004 issue to Courage,
with the following lead in ?Is courage obsolete? Heroism is
awfully hard to find in the era of expedience, excuses, and
evasion.? I found it ironic that this leading edge magazine
posed this question three years following 9-11?..what happened
during those three years that led them to ask that question?
The good news is that the editors were able to find ?walking
among us? the truly courageous. Furthermore, they found that the
wise words of Aristotle in approximately 350 BC were true,
"Courage is the first of human virtues because it makes all the
other virtues possible."
The unfortunate news is that during that time we have several
examples of leaders who chose not to face their fears--- those
inner fears of failure; of being wrong; of self doubt; of
letting go; of facing the mirror; of saying ?the emperor has no
clothes on?. Perhaps the truest sign of courage is when we are
able to live our life true to our values, to a purpose, and
owning the consequences that result. Holding ourselves 100%
accountable for our choices is one of the basic behaviors of
courage.
Living a life with courage requires us to build our courage
muscle, and just like building our other muscles, it takes
commitment, exercise and practice. It takes truly knowing
ourselves and our comfort zone, and consciously choosing
everyday to step outside of it?at least once. It takes
connecting our heart and our mind, and trusting our gut. It
takes identifying all of our fears and facing them, head on,
often just asking what?s the worse that can happen? It takes
goals, and humility to say, ?I?m wrong? or ?it didn?t work.? It
takes action.
Christopher Reeve showed us how to live a life with courage,
giving credence to the philosopher Seneca, ?sometimes even to
live is an act of courage.? In an essay he was writing at the
time of his death, he shares his profound story of living a
fearless life, and reminds us, when we do, we make the world a
better place for those who come behind us---perhaps that is the
ultimate reason for having a high CQ. (Ode issue 22)
Janet Crawford
Janet Crawford MBA, MHA is CEO of Tiberius Enterprises, Inc. and
an Executive Coach. She has a passion for leadership recognizing
the important role leaders have in shaping the lives of many.
She can be reached at 540-342-2844 or
jc@tiberiusenterprises.com, and the company?s website is
www.tiberiusenterprises.com.
About the author:
Janet Crawford holds a BA, Baylor University (1982) & MBA/MHA,
University of Missouri (1984).As an Executive Coach,
Professional Speaker & author, her mission is to help
individuals & organizations maximize their return on human
capital?managing human behaviors for optimal outcomes.
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