During a recent leadership workshop I was facilitating, a participant asked me a deceptively simple question: “From your perspective, what is the main reason leaders fail in their roles?”
Before answering, I asked her how she defined “failure.” She responded that, in her view, leaders fail when they do not deliver against financial expectations. Her definition was clear but surprisingly narrow. It reduced the essence of leadership to the management of a P&L. Financial results certainly matter, especially to investors, but they represent only one dimension of leadership impact. A leader’s true value extends far beyond financial indicators and includes the ability to shape culture, accelerate talent, mobilize teams, foster innovation, and create sustainable long-term value.
After reflecting on her question and drawing on years of experience working with leaders across industries, I concluded that the primary reason leaders fail is rarely a lack of business acumen, strategic intelligence, or operational capability. These are important, but they are not typically what brings a leader down. The fundamental reason leaders fail is a lack of courage.
Understanding Courage in Leadership
Courage, in this context, is not dramatic heroism. It is the moral strength to face difficulty, uncertainty, or discomfort without being overwhelmed by it.It is the willingness to act even when the risks are real, the consequences unclear, and the outcome uncertain.
This is particularly true in the realm of people leadership. Consider the situations in which leaders frequently hesitate:
- Delaying the decision to address or part ways with a consistently poor performer
- Avoiding difficult conversations or shying away from honest, constructive feedback
- Failing to confront counterproductive behaviours within the team.
- Hesitating to make decisive calls when stepping into a new role, fearing the internal perception their actions might trigger
These moments often determine whether a leader moves an organization forward or allows dysfunction to take root.
On the other end of the spectrum, some leaders exhibit the opposite behaviour: acting with excessive boldness, ignoring risks, or being blind to the human consequences of their decisions. This is not courage it is overconfidence, sometimes even arrogance, and it can be equally damaging.
Real courage lies in the balanced ability to act decisively while remaining acutely aware of the human, strategic, and ethical implications.
How Do We Build Courageous Leaders?
If courage is so essential, the natural question becomes: How do we help leaders develop and sustain it? Below are five proposed evidence-informed recommendations to strengthen courageous leadership based on my years of experiences and practices.
1. Normalize Discomfort as Part of the Role
Courageous leaders understand that discomfort is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of responsibility. Organizations should explicitly acknowledge that leadership involves uncomfortable decisions and equip leaders to embrace, rather than avoid, those moments.
2. Build Decision-Making Muscles Through Practice
Courage grows through repeated action. Simulations, role plays, and scenario-based learning help leaders practice tough calls in a safe environment, strengthening their ability to act under pressure when the stakes are real. Now Avatar based trainings or coaching are great resources.
3. Strengthen Self-Awareness and Emotional Regulation
Many leaders avoid difficult decisions because of internal fears: being disliked, being wrong, or damaging relationships. Developing self-awareness, understanding emotional triggers, and learning how to regulate stress through coaching, reflection, or feedback enables leaders to manage fear instead of being controlled by it.
4. Foster a Culture That Supports Candor and Accountability
Courage is easier when the environment encourages truth-telling and constructive challenge. Teams thrive when expectations are clear, feedback is normalized, and accountability is shared. Leaders should not carry the burden alone; culture can either reinforce or erode courageous behaviour.
5. Reframe Mistakes as Learning, Not Failure
A fear of being judged often paralyses leaders. When organizations treat mistakes as learning opportunities rather than career-defining failures, leaders gain the psychological safety needed to make timely, principled decisions even when outcomes are uncertain. The role of board toward CEOs for example is key there.
Final Thought
Leaders are not defined by their titles, technical skills, or strategic brilliance.
They are shaped and ultimately judged by their willingness to act with integrity and courage when it matters most.
Courage is not innate. It can be developed, supported, and strengthened through deliberate practice and the right organizational environment. If we want stronger organizations and more impactful leadership, we must invest not only in developing leaders’ minds but also in fortifying their moral backbone.
At the end of the day, leadership without courage is simply management. Leadership with courage is transformation. Leaders do not typically fail because of insufficient strategic or operational capability. They fail because of insufficient courage.
