The Leaders Agenda ArchiveWhy Courage Is the Leadership Quality We Need NowAmy BernsteinAugust 29, 2025This month, well discuss a topic that Ive been thinking about a lot lately: courage. In a moment as convulsive as this one, its tempting to proceed with cautionespecially if youre a leader whose every decision is freighted with consequence. With geopolitics, the economy, and society in a constant state of upheaval, risk aversion seems like a perfectly sensible response.As Ranjay Gulati notes in Now Is the Time for Courage, under such volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions most people feel a loss of control, triggering fear, which often leads to paralysis (the so-called freeze response) or retreat (flight). But you cant simply trim costs and maintain a holding pattern until the crisis passesnot if you want your organization to thrive.In fact, crises demand audacious action. When Gulati and colleagues looked at how 4,700 public companies had navigated three recessions leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, they found that just 9% of the firms emerged from each downturn stronger than before. Why? Its not just because they thoughtfully cut costs, says Gulati, but also because they simultaneously took calculated risks to invest in growth.Making the decision to invest in the future at a time like this takes courage. Gulati defines courage as a willingness to take bold, risky action to serve a purpose that you perceive to be worthy, usually in the face of an abiding fear. That sounds daunting, especially if you believeas Plato and Aristotle didthat bravery is an innate virtue. Gulati thinks the philosophers are wrongand that courage is teachable. He argues that every one of us can cultivate the courage needed to lead through pandemonium and make the kinds of hard decisions that build stronger, healthier organizationsand he offers a playbook for doing so. Bravery, he writes, is a choice.Now its up to us.***We want to make The Leaders Agenda as useful to you as possible, so any feedback you may have will be invaluable to us.What are your top concerns? What sort of insight would be most helpful to you?Please share your thoughtshere.Thanks for reading,Amy BernsteinEditor in Chief, HBRFurther Reading:2025 Global Leadership Development StudyThe State of Decision Making in Leadership DevelopmentGet on the ListDont miss a future issue! Subscribe to receive The Leaders Agenda in your inbox monthly.SubscribeClients come to Harvard Business Impact to accelerate and strengthen leadership across their organizations. We create learning experiences that help leaders drive change, inspire teams, and move businesses forward.Contact us to learn more.Explore Previous EditionsThe Leaders Guide to Strategic ThinkingStrategic thinkers take a future-focused view of their organization and the shifting context in which Read more: The Leaders Guide to Strategic ThinkingThe Leader's AgendaWhy Courage Is the Leadership Quality We Need NowWith geopolitics, the economy, and society in a constant state of upheaval, risk aversion seems Read more: Why Courage Is the Leadership Quality We Need NowThe Leader's AgendaLeadership AttunementAttunement is when a leader deeply notices, actively listens, and signals to an employee, and Read more: Leadership AttunementThe Leader's AgendaLead with Strength: Build Your Conflict IntelligenceConflict intelligence can provide an antidote to todays low levels of employee engagement and its Read more: Lead with Strength: Build Your Conflict IntelligenceThe Leader's AgendaThe post Why Courage Is the Leadership Quality We Need Now appeared first on Harvard Business Impact.