Accenture’s “Pulse of Change” report, published in September 2025, is startling: It found that 90% of C-suite executives say the pace of change has accelerated since January, yet only 42% feel prepared to meet it — down from 46% earlier in the year. Clearly, we need more leaders who are capable of navigating change and complexity. But what does this require?
The answer, in part, comes from Brené Brown’s new book, “Strong Ground.” In it, she shares that her research with global CEOs reveals a consistent and overwhelming theme: “We need braver leaders and more courageous cultures.”
Why Is Courage So Important?
Brown highlights several courageous behaviors that are often missing or underdeveloped in today’s organizations — behaviors that are critical in the face of complexity and change:
- Tough conversations. Without them, clarity erodes, trust drops and workarounds proliferate (e.g., back‑channeling, gossip and the “dirty yes”).
- The willingness and ability to address fears and feelings during change. Too often, organizations seek to correct surface behaviors and do not address the fear and emotions behind them.
- Connection and empathy. In many cases, short-term results are prioritized over the people-first culture required for long-term success.
- Sharing bold ideas and taking smart risks. In my research, I’ve found that 60% of leaders operate with more of a fixed mindset. This limits innovation, adaptability and learning — all essential for working through change.
- Prioritizing learning over shame, blame, and perfectionism. Many leaders operate in “urgent and reactive” mode. When things go wrong, blame is cast instead of using it as an opportunity to learn, adapt and improve.
- Getting to root causes. Quick fixes are often favored over deeper diagnostic work. But when we fix the wrong thing for the wrong reason, the problem returns in bigger form.
What’s striking is that none of these behaviors require a specialized degree or decades of experience. Most people are capable of doing them. What sets them apart is that they require courage — and courage seems to be in short supply.
Change is hard enough as it is. Without courage, change becomes nearly impossible.
Which brings us to the central question of this article: How do we develop courage in our leaders and employees so that they can more effectively navigate the change and complexity they are facing?
Before we can answer that, we need to understand what courage actually is — and what the neuroscience tells us about how to develop it.
What Is Courage and the Neuroscience Behind It?
Courage is the capacity to engage in behaviors that are uncomfortable, vulnerable and challenging in the short term, in pursuit of what is right and beneficial in the long term. It’s action in the presence of fear, not an absence of fear.
Examples of courage include:
- Stepping into the discomfort of a difficult conversation rather than avoiding it.
- Being transparent about a tough situation instead of sugar-coating it.
- Taking on a learning zone challenge, even if it might not go smoothly at first.
The reason courage is rare and difficult isn’t due to incompetence; it’s biological. Courage runs counter to our nervous system’s default programming, which is wired for safety, comfort and survival. Our brain is designed to avoid risk, not lean into it.
Understanding this gives us clarity on what’s actually required to develop courage: a nervous system upgrade.
A Developmental Strategy for Developing Courageous Leaders
Most leader and employee development programs focus on knowledge and skills — what’s known as horizontal development. This is like installing new apps on an iPad. It can enhance functionality, but it doesn’t fundamentally increase the system’s ability to handle increased complexity.
To develop courage, we need something deeper: vertical development.
Vertical development is about upgrading a person’s internal operating system, expanding their capacity to regulate fear, stay grounded in uncertainty and act with integrity under pressure. It enables individuals to move beyond self-protection and operate from purpose, values and curiosity.
When leaders vertically develop, they gain the ability to delay short-term comfort or control in service of long-term value creation. In other words, they build their capacity for courage.
Case Study: Improving the Courage at Microsoft
Before 2014, Microsoft was known for its sharp, competitive culture — brilliant minds, fast execution but little room for dissent. Problems surfaced late, and the culture often punished vulnerability or risk. In short, it was a culture driven by intellect but constrained by fear: high in IQ, yet low in courage.
When Satya Nadella took over as CEO, he initiated a shift from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” mindset. He modeled empathy and curiosity, normalized feedback and iteration, encouraged transparency, and prioritized connection with customers.
This was a developmental shift. Nadella helped the organization upgrade its internal operating system. Leaders became better able to:
- Hold uncertainty without shutting down
- Invite challenge without defensiveness
- Act from values rather than fear
The results? More courage. More candor. Bolder ideas. Faster learning.
And the impact is undeniable: Microsoft’s market capitalization has grown more than 10 times since Nadella became CEO.
How to Develop Courage in Your Organization
If courage is the capacity to act in the face of fear, discomfort and uncertainty, then developing courage in leaders and employees must focus on expanding that capacity — not just equipping them with new tools, but rewiring how they respond to pressure, risk and vulnerability. Here are five principles for doing just that.
1. Start With Mindset Awareness and Shifts
At the heart of courage lies mindset. Leaders who view challenges as threats to avoid will default to self-protection. But those who see challenges as opportunities to grow are more likely to lean in, take risks and lead with integrity, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Research on mindsets shows that most leaders are not as growth-oriented or promotion-focused as they believe. In fact, as mentioned earlier, 60% of leaders in my research exhibit fixed mindsets. They tend to hold on to what has worked in the past and avoid situations that expose gaps or require vulnerability.
Developing courage starts with helping leaders identify and shift these mental models. Tools like mindset assessments and reflective practices can illuminate how they currently relate to challenge, feedback and uncertainty — and point the way toward healthier, more courageous ways of thinking.
2. Normalize Discomfort as a Developmental Path
Most organizations want innovation and agility, but often avoid the discomfort required to get there. Courageous cultures flip this dynamic: They normalize discomfort as a signal of growth, not a threat to performance.
One effective way to do this is by building a “learning zone” culture. When employees are consistently encouraged to stretch beyond their comfort zones, whether through challenging projects, new responsibilities or facilitated reflection, they start to build tolerance for discomfort and uncertainty. They realize that failure is simply part of the process, rather than a sign of weakness.
Leaders can reinforce this by regularly naming the discomfort in the room and framing it as a developmental opportunity: “This is hard — and that’s why it matters.”
3. Make It Safe to Take Risks
Courage can’t be commanded, but it can be cultivated. And one of the best ways to do that is to make it safe to be brave.
Psychological safety — the belief that it’s safe to speak up, make mistakes and challenge the status quo without fear of retribution — is foundational for courage. Leaders must go first. When they model vulnerability, admit mistakes and share the lessons they’ve learned from risk-taking, it signals to others that it’s okay to do the same.
Simple but powerful practices include:
- Hosting “failure forums” or “courage roundtables” where people share real stories of risks taken (and what they learned).
- Publicly recognizing employees who speak truth to power or challenge the way things have always been done.
- Reframing mistakes as necessary data points in the learning loop.
The more leaders reinforce that courage is valued, not punished, the more it will spread.
4. Build Systems That Support Vertical Development
Courage isn’t developed through a single workshop. It requires repeated, intentional experiences that help leaders upgrade their internal operating system: their ability to regulate emotion, hold complexity and choose values over fear.
This is the work of vertical development, and it’s best supported through practices like:
- Executive coaching that helps leaders observe and reframe their reactive patterns
- Mindfulness training that strengthens awareness and emotional regulation
- Reflection routines (e.g., journaling, after-action reviews, peer feedback) that deepen insight and learning from experience
These are essential conditions for vertical growth. And when organizations invest in these conditions at scale, they ultimately develop braver leaders.
5. Measure and Reinforce Courageous Behavior
As with any competency, what gets measured gets improved. While courage may seem intangible, there are clear indicators of a courageous culture that can be tracked over time:
- Frequency and quality of difficult conversations
- Willingness to challenge authority or propose unconventional ideas
- Speed and transparency in surfacing problems
- Learning agility across levels of the organization
Organizations can integrate these into engagement surveys, leadership 360s and cultural health assessments. But more importantly, they must reinforce these behaviors through recognition, promotion criteria, and performance conversations.
When courage becomes visible, valued and rewarded, it becomes contagious.
Final Thoughts: Courage Is a Developmental Imperative
The world isn’t slowing down. The complexity isn’t going away. And traditional leadership development — focused on knowledge, skills and tactical execution — is no longer enough.
What organizations need now are leaders and employees with the internal capacity to act boldly in the face of fear, to stand in discomfort for the sake of growth, and to prioritize long-term impact over short-term self-protection.
That capacity is called courage. And courage can be developed.
It requires vertical development, which starts with mindsets, grows through practice and thrives in cultures that are brave enough to make room for it.
The future belongs to the courageous. The question is:
Will your organization be one of them?
