Courage lies at the heart of leadership. Leaders need courage to make wise decisions, not self-interested ones. They need to be able to set aside their egos, to feel vulnerable, to face challenges, yet remain principled and hold the course. This book presents opportunities to make a real difference in organizations, and explains how one can develop the courage to be an effective leader, step by step.
The book is designed to give leaders the self-awareness and the tools to overcome the obstacles that prevent us from leading in the ways we want. Leadership requires working through the systemic barriers that serve as forcefields pulling and pushing us in various directions. Using interviews with over 20 organizational leaders in a variety of industries, the book helps leaders to address key areas that are rarely discussed: the personal baggage attached to authority, self-esteem and self-differentiation, ego management, and the terror of the group. It highlights - with examples - how fear impairs our ability to make good decisions, and how our tendency to reactivity and the quick fix vitiates our attempts at being courageous. The hallmark of courage is the ability to have courageous conversations that invite transformation.
The book is ideal reading for organizational leaders who are seeking ways to break through some of the personal and systemic barriers to leading with purpose and in a way that makes a real difference.
Annabel Beerel has worked with multinationals as well as educational and non-profit organizations. She was the founder and CEO of an international AI company, has been a corporate financier and investment banker in the City of London, and was the president and CEO of the New England Women's Leadership Institute. She is currently an executive leadership consultant and is the author of ten books.
"In all my many years of reading books on leadership and taking leadership training, I've never read a book as tightly focused on the courage that is lacking in leaders today and so effectively presenting why and how courage should be self-developed by leaders in all sectors of life as Annabel Beerel's book on courageous leadership. Dr. Beerel does a commendably thorough job of using story telling from her own life and literary works to provoke thought and make her points more vivid and memorable. She is extremely well read in a topic on which she is clearly passionate, and she explores each facet with thoroughness and diligence. Her lists of references and self-examination questions at the end of each chapter invite the reader to dive more deeply into the inextricable links between courage and leadership and live more courageously. This would particularly be an excellent book for all women and men in leadership positions in businesses, nonprofits, or the government to read and cultivate more courage in their leadership, but it would also be valuable to all those who are willing to take up its challenges of becoming more courageous in their decision-making and life choices."
Tom Raffio, President and CEO, Northeast Delta Dental
"In Courage: The Heart of Leadership, Dr. Beerel motivates and inspires the reader to reflect on their own character and capacity for courageous leadership practices. She encourages each of us to scan our environment for areas of opportunity for practicing courage in the face of ever-changing realities and provides a solid framework for developing and implementing a foundation of courage. Through her extensive research, Dr. Beerel illustrates the importance of ethical behavior as it relates to personal and professional freedom and happiness. This is an insightful resource for those in or aspiring to be in a leadership position, educators at all levels, and students of business and leadership studies."
Kelly A. Duggan, M.S.; Broker and Co-Founder, Maximum Results Realty, LLC
"It's not often you find a leadership book that's a page turner but this storyline of firsthand observance, acute social and financial commentary, plus scholarly teachings makes for riveting reading. The status of where we are, where we could be and how to get there is relevant at all organizational levels. May you have the courage to pursue it."
Diane Smith, Retired Senior Executive of International Supply Chain
"It was hard for me to read the first three chapters of this book because I became so dismayed at the lack of ethical leadership in the workplace. However, Chapter 4 gave me hope that some people have the courage to tell the truth despite the consequences. After reading the later chapters, I gained new insights into why people lack the courage to be truthful. I learned a great deal about myself and others in reading this book."
Janet Laatsch, Former CEO, Greater Seacoast Community Health
"Dr. Beerel's book on courage taught me that true leadership involves reflection, vulnerability, and embracing uncertainty to grow from every experience. Courage is about facing one's fears, making tough decisions, learning continuously, and being mindful. This book was an extremely stimulating read."
Dr. Nicole Parsons, Co-Director, Associate Professor, Program for Advancement of Learning, Curry College