Courage

Leaders are courageous. They possess emotional fortitude, and psychological hardiness.

Most people think if you are afraid, you don’t have courage. Courage is the management of fear, not the absence of it. It is getting your butterflies to fly in formation. It is going forward in spite of doubt and fear.

Especially in turbulent times, leaders must behave like emotional and intellectual anchors. They must have the courage of their convictions. They must be willing to take principled action when others make excuses or quit. They must be able to endure feelings, and learn from them, instead of immediately reacting to them. Leaders must be more like thermostats than thermometers.

Somebody is always trying to pull you down when you’re a leader. And you cannot be vacillating back and forth with the wind. There can be a wind when you’re successful and everyone agrees with you. Or there can be a wind where you’re not successful and everyone disagrees with you. Courage gives a leader the ability to stand straight and not sway no matter which way the wind blows.
- Mike Krzyzewski, Leading With The Heart

Leaders who go the distance have a heavy-duty resilience. They do not quit at quitting time.