Courage in Conduct

Courage can be integral in the following ways:

• The way you conduct yourself

• Your opinions about yourself

• What you think other people’s opinions are of you

Sometimes courage is taking the action to not say something. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and famous Stoic states: “You always own the option of having no opinion.” Often, the urge to speak up comes from a place of ego. 

But there are obviously times when raising concerns is truly important. Whether that's with your own performance, if you think you're underachieving and you think you need some help in a certain role, or you could be witnessing something, or someone struggling, or something inappropriate. It takes courage just to speak up.

Another way that ego can be dangerous is in not owning your mistakes. People make mistakes - we all do. And most of the time these mistakes are not made purposely. Don’t deny your mistakes - don’t hide them - don’t try to cover them up. You’ll get much more respect from managers, peers and clients if you own your mistake and learn from it. Remember, people’s reactions are often not as bad as you think they might be. The vast majority of people are reasonable - again, we’re our own worst critic.

Most people are lenient with others, and tough on themselves.

Be humble, but be proud of yourself and what you do.