Each chapter of our new book, MAKE COURAGE CONTAGIOUS, presents a moment of truth when leaders feel the pull of gravity pulling them down – and when it takes courage to defy gravity and lift their fortunes to a higher level of ethics, threat-mitigation, profit and wealth-creation. We ask what would you do, faced with a similar moment of truth? Would you Go Along or PowerUP, with veterans with hegemony Puff Up?
One moment of truth is the Rookie’s Dilemma. Here you are, with the place at the table you wanted. You walk into your first big meeting and see a big mistake in the making. What you see isn’t a minor flaw. It’s a big ugly wart-on-your-nose flaw that should be obvious to everyone. Yet no one speaks out, even when you ask a few gentle probing questions and ask, “Do you see what I see?” Your colleagues act like the die is cast, when veterans Puff Up, insist they know best and dismiss your questions.
Most of us have faced the Rookie’s Dilemma. We’ve stood in the same shoes as the Rookie American police officers who saw veteran cops act like warriors instead of guardians – but asked whether it was our place to intervene, rather than listen, learn and follow orders. If you had the EnQ that the rookie police officers lacked, you would find a way to PowerUP more Brilliance, find a different path forward and save a life. You would shake off the temptation to keep your head below the parapets and bide your time, seeing what’s wrong but waiting until you have more cred or more support. You would say, “Hold on a moment,” and lift veterans with hegemony out of risk-averse traps like battling for dominance, tunnel vision or pressing forward with summit fever. You would reach out, get a second opinion or quote from your official training manual and enterprise values to get people woke in the moment – not just rely on the loudest and most aggressive “bro-culture” voice in the crowd.
It’s more urgent than ever that we all face the Rookie’s Dilemma with more courage and a stronger EnQ. It’s not just for police or soldiers who are on the front lines. It’s for any of us who sees what’s happening when colleagues with hegemony are hepped up on an adrenaline high, are caught in the heat of the moment and conveniently forget what our credos, values, manifestos, oaths or training and procedure manuals say we’re supposed to do.
Courage is key for new account execs who face price pressure or customers who want what’s easy rather than what’s cost-effective. It’s key for new CEOs facing boards who are scared about running short on capital. It’s key for new marketing leaders facing pragmatic skeptics who don’t know what you know about mobilizing KOLs and driving adoption of a new standard of care. It’s key for new quality, safety or regulatory leaders who see a better way to profit from a strong honorable credible brand. It’s key for new DD analysts who see the ways that a deal can be de-risked and face bizdev champions who press hard to get the deal done. And it’s key for HR leaders who don’t want to waste a crisis – and see how to profit far more than ever before from a real non-token commitment to inclusion and diversity.
If you’re ready to face the Rookie’s Dilemma with more Courage – and the EnQ to encourage high-potential leaders in your enterprise to help you MAKE COURAGE CONTAGIOUS, we invite you to check out our new book. We describe the risk-averse traps that make many rookies fearful and reluctant to step up and speak out, or make them second-guess what they see with their own eyes. And we offer a 5-step formula to lift themselves out of that fear and reluctance, to profit from turbulence. Starting now. Use this free self-assessment to see if you’re ready,
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MAKE COURAGE CONTAGIOUS by Dr Merom Klein and Dr Louise Yochee Klein highlights the Rookie’s Dilemma and other moments of truth that test the courage of high-potential leaders to find the best, not the easy or obvious, solutions – to drive adoption of innovation and profit from turbulence. Klein and Klein are Principals of Courage Growth Partners, the leadership development and human capital consultancy that strengthens high-potential innovation leadership in corporations, VCs, entrepreneurial ventures and economic development agencies around the world.
