03 Oct Courage & Leadership
A few weeks ago I was in Berlin with my son.
He was keen on learning about the Berlin Wall, its history, how the events unfolded, and how the wall got brought down. He was quick to realize that a lot of people were very courageous during the times when the wall was up.
People had the courage to stand up and say we’re done with the wall and the regime.
People had the courage to risk getting killed to flee the autocratic regime of the DDR or to help people flee (I recommend visiting the Check Point Charlie museum for an idea of how desperate people had to be in order to find all these brilliant ideas to escape).
☝ Did you know that 140 Berliners died trying to flee East Berlin? More happily, more than 5,000 people succeeded in their attempts!
Other people had the political courage to take the Wall down, to join forces to allow Germany to be reunited quickly.
☝ Did you know that the fall of the wall happened by mistake after East German politburo member Günter Schabowski prematurely announced that restrictions on travel visas would be lifted immediately? If you have the opportunity to watch a recording of that press conference, take it. It is a striking example of how bad communication can make leadership derail.
As I was explaining these things to my son, it reminded me that courage is a trademark of strong leadership. In my experience and career, I have seen successful leaders do 5 courageous things consistently:
1. They seek and receive feedback and most importantly, they act on it
2. They admit mistakes to others
3. They have difficult conversations and do not avoid these nor conflict
4. They embrace diversity to create different perspectives
5. They offer “air cover” to protect their teams and create a safe space for them
What else have seen courageous leaders do?
☝ Did you realize that while the wall was up for 28 years, it has now been down for 33 years? know that 140 Berliners died trying to flee East Berlin? More happily, several thousands succeeded in their attempts! I find it mindboggling to think that most of us have now lived more without the wall than with it since it was erected!
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