We know of no leadership training program leading to certification that focuses on courage. What is courage? How is it developed? Does it strengthen in risk taking, in failure or success? And, we guess, an essential question arises of whether or not leadership calls for courage. Or is skill and knowledge enough? A lucky candidate may come across a professor who includes an investigation of courage in her coursework or who tells stories of experiences where courage was invoked. We believe every human begin has the capacity to be courageous. It is revealed in very different ways, combating cancer or recovering from a horrible accident, dealing with a great loss, entering a war zone, telling the truth when we know there will be unpleasant consequences, or standing up for someone under attack.  Very few demonstrate the kind of courage that saves a life or rescues someone but we do hear those stories and they become part of the understanding. Courage is not reserved for the domain of those who lead. In fact, our first sense of courage comes often from those close to us who surmount seemly insurmountable barriers in life. Read more...