Courageous Leadership In Action

Courage comes in many shapes and sizes. My first deployment to Kuwait in 1991 was one type of courage. Making my first sales pitch ever was a different type. Standing up in front of potential investors for my first startup was a different type.

Selling a book proposal as a first-time author to a major publisher happened after dozens of rejections. Taking a company public when everyone says it’s impossible was nerve-wracking.

Many people have described courage as “facing your fears.” But even more so, courage in leadership means facing what makes you uncomfortable. During my days in the Marine Corps, I learned valuable lessons in courage—and uncomfortability—that served me well later on in sales and the boardroom.

The best part is that you don’t have to go to war to learn these skills. You can learn them—and more importantly—you can practice them now. Because when the pressure is on, you don’t have time to build those skills. You need them at the moment. You need to be ready when your number is called.

Make Quick Decisions

One of the first lessons I learned in USMC school was “Go/No-Go,” rapidfire decision making. During a field training session, I was asked by the officer to make a tactical decision. I froze up, afraid of being wrong. “Right or wrong, make a decision, lieutenant!” barked the officer.

His lesson was clear: You can be right or wrong, but you can’t be slow. If you’re wrong, you can always pivot quickly and use the lesson to prevent future mistakes. During all three of the startups I’ve been part of, this quick decision-making matrix has served me well in helping us move forward quickly.

Volunteer Every Chance You Get

I wasn’t even supposed to go to the Persian Gulf when I did. Another pilot was already overseas for the mission, but when his wife fell ill, they needed someone else to step up. I immediately raised my hand to volunteer. Given the brevity of the war, I became a war veteran, while many of my peers got to the battlefield later in their service.

Likewise, when I went into sales, if we were doing a training exercise and a volunteer was needed for role play, I always raised my hand. If the company needed to send someone to a conference, I took the assignment. While other salespeople saw these as annoyances, I saw them as opportunities that eventually helped me become a top seller.

Admit When You’re Wrong

One of the most courageous actions a leader can take is admitting when you’re wrong. After any training exercise or mission, we always debriefed. Even when the exercise or mission was a success, there was always room for improvement—including admitting what went wrong and what could be better.

When my second startup, Espero, was dissolved, I had to take ownership that the primary cause was a strategic decision I had made. As the CEO, I had taken the wrong path at an important juncture and we failed to attract the capital we needed.

However, by admitting this to the various stakeholders involved in the dissolution, I was able to keep their trust, which later allowed me to launch my current venture, Cadrenal Therapeutics.

Fight Complacency

During my last year in the Marines, I served as a general’s aide-de-camp, I kept noticing a group of mid-level officers who seemed to have “settled.” They knew that they had reached the highest they could go and then sank into complacency before they retired with full benefits.

The same happens in corporate environments constantly—a leader reaches the C-Suite and then settles in. They have “arrived.” They stop pushing themselves. They become comfortable.

But courageous leaders fight complacency. Even when they have reached the “top” of their field, they keep finding ways to push themselves and grow. For me, that has included training for marathons and writing, pushing my body and mind to stay healthy. It requires no courage to be complacent or comfortable.

You never know when a downturn in the market could change your circumstances. Those who embrace uncomfortability survive. Those who fell into complacency don’t.

In my new book Underdog Nation, I dive deeper into all four of these skills and more. While there are many other ways to foster courageous leadership, these three are evergreen. You can practice them every single day to scale your courage and impact.

Which one will you start with today?