Courage powers innovation

 

Retrieved from: http://www.transformleaders.tv/five-cs-of-cultivating-courage-for-stretch-roles/courage/

I believe that all individuals share varying degrees of courage. That being said, courage has a different meaning to every person. What is most important is not how we define it, but the mere application of it to power us forward. 

In a given workplace, it takes courage for an individual to move up the corporate ladder, increase financial gains and gain increased authority. 

In order to achieve such goals, it is important that one is:

- confident

- positive

- open to setbacks

- creative

- well-prepared

- resourceful

In terms of innovation, courage allows an individual to be open to share an idea regardless of any judgement he/she may receive. By doing so, the idea can be shared and improved or built upon more successfully. A great idea would not have been otherwise introduced without a courageous attempt of an individual to share an idea.

I have applied this principle most successfully during my experience in an entrepreneurship class. Our group task was to generate a smartphone application. My group consisted of individuals who worked in the bar and nightclub industry in which  I was the only individual who had no prior working experience in it. I believed that my personal experience was not useful in our nightclub and bar application we created because I was not knowledgeable enough of the industry itself other than as a patron. However, I had to consistently apply this principle in order to bring about inconsistencies and opposing points to improve the efficiency of our application with a patron's point of view. As the course developed, I had a better understanding that my position in my group was crucial in innovating a more effective smartphone application.

An opposing point of view towards this principle may be that there are certain circumstances where one should not be courageous to share points of views or ideas in a workplace. For example, this principle should only be applied when there has been enough research and viability to share the idea. By doing so, one can avoid embarrassment and ridicule in the face of others, especially superiors who can prevent workplace progress. This point of view is valid because proper research is important in order to develop innovative ideas and concepts, and also individual credibility in the workplace.

What prevents me from applying this principle more consistently is maintaining a positive attitude. There have been times that past failures have altered my attitude to be negative, and therefore have prevented me from being courageous to implement or share an idea. Ultimately, it is important that I view these past failures as positive experiences to learn from and that a continuous, positive attitude will encourage me to be courageous enough to attain success. 

A question that still remains regarding this principle is:

How can individuals influence their workplace to be more accepting of failures in order to foster an environment of courage to share ideas and concepts?