I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had conversations with people about their work where they are bothered by something, want something to change, have an uneasy feeling about something, or outright feel something unethical is happening, and yet when pressed, they offer things like, “it’s above my paygrade to say anything”, “that’s someone else’s job”, “I’ll get fired if I say anything”, “not my hill to die on”, or “what if I’m off base, or wrong?”.
Why don’t people speak up more when they face these kinds of challenging situations? This question drives my curiosity. I’ve studied, interviewed people, written articles, and even started a podcast about the intersection of leadership and risk. It’s such a rich and complex topic that weaves in both heart and mind with our sense of values, our fears and self-talk, and our choices about action or inaction.
One term that I’ve discovered in the research around risk taking and courage is “Competently Courageous”, coined by James Detert. I love this because it means that courage can be developed. And, I believe that courage is developed through taking risks. By taking risks more frequently and consciously, we learn and grow our capacity and our effectiveness.