The Unsung Hero of Transformation: Personal Courage
- Article
- Sep 19, 2025
- 3 min read
In the realm of organisational transformation, the spotlight often shines on strategy, innovation, and change leadership. Yet, one crucial leadership behaviour is not often acknowledged or encouraged: personal courage. This mindset is not just about bold decisions; it's about putting your head above the parapet and navigating your way through the noise of change, calling out problems, risks or deficiencies, when no-one else can see or hear it. Sharing thoughts and beliefs, even when in the best interest of the organisation, can leave you feeling exposed and isolated.
Think about times when you personally ventured outside your comfort zone. Maybe it’s when you started a new job or when you proposed to your partner. Maybe it was your first time travelling solo or walking into a conference room full of strangers. These experiences involve taking steps into the unknown and feeling vulnerable.
When you step into a new change programme for the first time these feelings may appear because everyone wants to fit into the culture, accommodate important leaders and not rock the boat. But, if you want to truly transform your organisation, fitting in is not necessarily the right approach.
What is courage and why is it needed in transformation?
Courage, by definition, is the ability to do something that may frighten you. We often possess courage in our personal lives but struggle to translate it into the workplace because we’re not always fully in control. In our article about avoiding the perils of group think we discussed the need for an empowering culture where people can openly discuss challenges. But if this culture isn’t there individuals will need the courage to speak up when things are going wrong and if necessary having the bravery to say "Let's put the brakes on. What are we doing here?".
It’s not uncommon to find inexperienced people in leadership positions during times of change. It takes personal courage to acknowledge a lack of experience and seek input, creating a safe space for themselves and others to learn and openly share concerns and ideas.
If you take your time and consider what you want to say, most of the time your observations and ideas will be acknowledged. However, opposition will always exist for various, and often cultural reasons, especially when change demands significant attention and energy. Good change leadership embraces the courage, willingness and preparation to face that opposition, over and over again.
Courage and resilience
To counterbalance the risk of demonstrating courage, you need to apply self-compassion when something goes wrong. No transformation goes according to plan so it’s important to be resilient and accept that every situation is a learning opportunity. Consider how much compassion you would offer someone who has made a mistake – you’d tell them to learn from it and to keep trying, or to take time out to recalibrate so it’s important that you do the same yourself. Those who excel in self-compassion often possess a learning mindset that can be applied in the future. Fail fast, learn and move on.
A safe space to share concerns, practice difficult conversations and occasionally vent is also crucial when you feel like a lone voice. Coaching or mentoring with someone who has been in a similar position can provide that additional sounding board – whether from within your organisation or from a specialist such as Marlowe Consulting. ‘Critical friend’ reviews of transformation can also support you through an independent perspective, which often give additional evidence to share with sceptics or those keen to stay in their own comfort zone.
To conclude
Courage is a muscle that needs to be expressed without undermining or destabilising yourself or others. Resilience and self-compassion are essential when facing negative opposition and ultimately, remember that courage is driven by the end goal, not personal glory. It's not about flying the flag solely for yourself but for the greater good of your organisation.
About Marlowe
Change can be complex but the approach to it doesn’t need to be. At Marlowe we partner with organisations to deliver large scale, complex transformation and change. We deliver business change solutions, change capability, assurance, training, leadership effectiveness and cultural change.
Our focus is on your people to ensure your change is delivered practically, successfully and sustainably. Please contact us if you would like to know more about delivering exceptional business change.