Guest post by Kara Hanak, Alated.

“In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they’re about brains, but in the future, they’ll be about the heart.”  – Minouche Shafik, the Director of the London School of Economics.

We are on the brink of a revolution — a revolution of the heart. We learned about the industrial revolution in history class, when people moved from farms to factories. We have lived through the technical revolution where adoption of innovation has rapidly changed society. From wifi and bluetooth to AI and data science, we are impacted each and every day, so much so that technology is no longer a distinct differentiator. What is going to set apart successful organizations and leaders is the heart revolution — courage, connection, and collaboration.

 What is going to set apart successful organizations and leaders is the heart revolution — courage, connection, and collaboration.

Executives agree that the number one skill that will set great leaders apart from the mediocre is courage. A courageous skill set, as defined by the research of Dr. Brené Brown from the University of Texas – Houston in her best-selling book Dare to Lead™, includes:

  • Understanding and living your values

  • Using seven key elements to establish, maintain, and rebuild trust

  • Building our personal resilience

  • Learning to be vulnerable, including recognizing and slaying shame with empathy

Dr. Brown’s executive interviews proved that many executives intrinsically expect existing and emerging leaders to have this fully-rounded skill set even if they are not actively coaching and building these skills in their employees.

The good news is that Dr. Brown’s research also shows that the skills needed to be a courageous leader can be learned and enhanced. Your courageous skill set is not finite — you’re not limited to only what you are born with. What does it take to build your skillset? Curiosity, self-reflection, a willingness to candidly face difficult situations, and a healthy dose of vulnerability. Some of these skills may come naturally to you, while others may be growth opportunities.

Your courageous skill set is not finite — you’re not limited to only what you are born with

If you’re anything like me, you started reading that list and you thought to yourself, “I am courageous. I’m curious, self-aware, and resilient. I can even face difficult situations.  Oh, I have to be vulnerable? Whoa. I’m not quite sure about that, it doesn’t seem safe. But I want to be a courageous leader”. What if you could jump-start your courage skill set in a safe setting?

While you cannot learn all of these skills overnight — they will take repetition to become habit — you can learn how to effectively practice each of them, build out a plan for growing them, and receive one-on-one personal coaching on implementing that plan. You have the power to learn and create a ripple effect that can build brave interactions from the boardroom to the living room. Your emboldened courage will enable your heart revolution, creating connection and collaboration, and allowing you to harness the best of both the industrial and technical revolutions and deliver superior results. There is no better place to do that than with other brave leaders in your own community.

Join us at Central Exchange for a two-day, deep-dive workshop that will equip you with the skills and network needed to be the daring leader you were meant to be. Save your spot now at centralexchange.org/courageous-culture.