What is Quiet Courage?

People often ask me where the name, “Quiet Courage” comes from. Although I would love to say that I was struck by a creative bolt of lightening, the idea actually comes from the following quote by Mary Anne Radmacher.

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow’.”

I first read this quote while I was being treated for breast cancer. I was waiting for my surgeon in his office looking at the different things he had on the wall and this quote jumped out at me. I loved it because it presented courage in a different way than we usually think about it. Courage does not have to be publically heroic. It can be quietly powerful and we don’t have to wait for a catastrophic event to tap into its strength.

I recently told a client that it was very courageous of her to commit time, energy and money to look at ways of changing her leadership style. Her immediate response, “I’m not courageous. I just need to find a better way to work with my staff.” We then had a great discussion about what courage meant to her. At first, she talked about policemen, fireman, soldiers who risk their lives everyday. For her, that defined courage.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, most of us will never get the chance to exhibit that valorous kind of courage; but that doesn’t mean we don’t have courage. Every day we are given the opportunity to be courageous in our own lives. Linda stepped out of her comfort zone to call me and set up coaching sessions. Each week we discuss new ideas and things for her to try at work. Some are successful and some are not; yet she does not give up. She is committed to developing a leadership style that both feels comfortable to her and is effective with her staff.

It’s hard work. Her staff doesn’t like some of the changes she implementing and there are time when Linda feels like giving up. But she uses the strength of her inner courage to keep moving forward. To me, Linda’s willingness to work through all this, in spite of constant fear and doubt, epitomizes the concept of quiet courage.

Courage is not about overcoming fear – it’s about not letting fear stand in our way of doing something we want to do. And remember, you can always try again tomorrow!