This is the fourth in a series of posts about S&C’s values, and the third in which we explore each of them individually and what they mean to us and our work. 

Courage is the willingness to practice doing uncomfortable things because it’ll be good for our relationships, for ourselves, and for the world. 

In the last two posts, we talked about our values of curiosity, which gets us paying attention, and humanity, which guides us to lead with genuine regard for people. Together this is obviously a more ethical way of working, and we’ve learned that when you treat people as ends in themselves and not means to your own ends, the work gets better. 

In this post, we’re going to talk about the next of our core values: Courage is what lets us act in ways that can be uncomfortable. Without courage, curiosity is just an intellectual exercise. Without courage, our empathy and humanity says passive. 

What Courage Means to Us 

When we talk about courage at S&C, we’re not talking about anything heroic or dramatic. We’re talking about the willingness to walk toward discomfort when you know it matters. A good example of courage is being willing to get vulnerable with others. It matters that we put ourselves out there knowing that something might not land. We need to risk being wrong in front of other people. We need to risk getting hurt if we’re going to do important work. 

A lot of our work centers on making the workplace a psychologically safe place. As founders and leaders, we know that our own way must root in a wise place. Ultimately, we set culture, so it’s vital that we invest in our own self-development to achieve a culture where courage and vulnerability can truly thrive. We know that often, we are not reacting to the people in front of us. Our emotional reactions reflect the sum of our past experiences, which can include pain, fear, and trauma. We’ve all got stories that we have internalized: I am this, I am good at that, I am bad at that. I’m afraid of this. 

To be courageous is to challenge these stories, to step back and understand ourselves, to have the courage to face ourselves first and ultimately decide if these stories are serving us well. Meditation is a practice that builds the muscle of stepping back and becoming the witness. It’s a powerful way to make courage a habit — creating the space that allows us to root in a place of wisdom. The result of any practice in courage is the reconditioning of ourselves to have the capacity to confront any situation wisely.

Courage makes our other values possible — they’re all interconnected. You can’t ask the hard, direct question authentically if you’re unwilling to hear the answer. You can’t be direct if you’re protecting yourself from conflict. Courage is the willingness to practice doing uncomfortable things because it’ll be good for our relationships, for ourselves, and the world. 

Courage in Practice 

In our work with clients, we regularly facilitate conversations where people disagree, where there’s real tension about organizational direction. We believe our job is to sit in that discomfort with them rather than rushing to smooth it over or try to solve it for them. We know that everyone has the answers they need. The transformative path is the one where people are invited to find the answer themselves, together. 

It takes tremendous presence and expertise to create this type of space. One cannot fake this kind of presence. It is something felt, an energy, that comes from a deep place of confidence and knowing built from years of sitting with an honest, courageous mirror on oneself. Our own dedicated practice of holding up the mirror to ourselves has become an offering to our clients, an invitation, to do the same in order to confront their cultures, their conflicts, their longstanding pieties and conventional wisdoms that have held them back. Clients have to be brave to do this work, and we have to be brave enough to guide them through it honestly. 

Are you willing to say, “We don't fully know how yet, but we’ll figure it out?” Many consultants walk in with an attitude that they have all the answers. They believe that’s what they’re paid for. We say that the answers are in the room, and we’re all going to take a step forward into the unknown together through a creative, courageous process that will unfold and allow you to find the answers you need. Our approach is designed to build an enduring practice that roots culture and behaviors in courage and vulnerability. This is the kind of experience that transforms organizations. 

We say that the answers are in the room, and we’re all going to take a step forward into the unknown together.

What Courage Asks of Us 

Courage requires that we start to identify where fear is getting in our way, and not to ignore that but to listen and distinguish what’s really going on. Is this fear telling you that this is a terrible decision? Or is the fear telling you that this is scary but possibly right? 

If you’re sensing that it’s the latter, then that’s a signal to go forth, not a warning to stop. We ask ourselves to tolerate imperfection and exposure. Courage means the willingness to be wrong, to have the difficult conversation, to trust your teammates not to use failure against you. 

The willingness to keep showing up honestly is what makes it a value and not just a moment. When we practice courage — with ourselves, with each other, with our clients — we create the conditions for work that is truly transformative.