Contemporary
Thinking about Courage
by
Francine R. Gaillour, MD, MBA, FACPE
A
couple of months ago I introduced the topic "How
Do You Know You're Ethical?" If you are now
ready to take the next step of making a request of your colleagues to
uphold an ethical standard, or perhaps to start a discussion about what the
group's ethical standards should be, then you're going to need some COURAGE.
The
September issue of Fast Company
magazine is devoted to this essential, but rare quality of leaders and
followers who want to guide their organization along a path of
integrity. If this is the path for you, I strongly encourage you to read Fast Company's
"Courage Issue" to inspire your journey along that road
sometimes forgotten.
Here
is small sample of the insights contained in that issue:
"In
business, in politics, in journalism, in the military---in any
organization large or small---there seem to be few incentives to
stand on principle today. Doing so, speaking up for what I
believed was right, I learned, can be a profoundly isolating experience,
which may be why, whether at Abu Ghraib or in the spate of corporate
scandals, leaders try to pass the buck rather than accept
responsibility for their actions and those of their
subordinates. The act of thrusting oneself into a kind of
professional purgatory can feel like self-immolation." ---David
Brock
We
live in a country where the collective lack of courage has infected
the language itself. We don't demand honesty and
accountability from our leaders; not surprisingly, our leaders
conclude that we can't handle the truth. Today, more than ever, we
need people with the courage to tell the plain truth. We need
brave men and women who refuse to trumpet the platitudes, or take
stale ideas off the rack. . . Telling the truth of
course, can carry heavy penalties: condemnation, ostracism,
slander, the end of careers. Telling the truth often requires
as much courage as that of the foot soldier, the police officer, the
firefighter. . . . That's why we must cherish these people who have
the guts to speak the truth: mavericks, whistle blowers, disturbers
of the public peace." ---Pete Hamill
"Except
at the margins, courage is not a product of individual behavior . .
. .Courage is a function of feeling part of a social fabric, of a
network that's going to do something that has never been done
before. People do gutsy things because they're in a
group. . . They're all in this together. . . . Leaders
articulate those goals and incarnate the behavior through symbolic
conduct to get people to follow. When Cicero spoke, people
marveled; when Caesar spoke, people marched. Getting people to
march behind your ideas takes courage." ---Warren Bennis
"You
have to have a gang of believers, folks who can take on the
resistance and share in some of the courageous acts with you.
Otherwise, it's too lonely and you can't make it." ---Noel
Tichy
"Either
life entails courage, or it ceases to be life." ---E.M. Forster
"Courage
is the ladder on which all the other virtues mount." ---Clare
Boothe Luce
In
a future issue of Daring Doctors, we'll take this topic of upholding ethical
standards further and discuss HOW you can raise awareness and
influence behavior in your organization. For now, start
mustering up your courage.
Francine
R. Gaillour, MD, MBA, FACPE is an executive coach and business
consultant. She is president of The Gaillour Group and director
of Creative Strategies in Physician Leadership.
She
can be reached at (888) 562-7289 or francine@physicianleadership.com
|
