(Yes, and I learned this from a woman with a tattoo.)
The Zoom call started like any other one.
Camera on.
Hot coffee in hand.
And then she appeared on screen.
A senior education leader.
Responsible for the professional development of over 6,000 teachers.
And from the very first moment, it was clear:
this was someone you couldn’t ignore.
Sharp presence. Big smile.
A tattoo on her arm (and that’s where I paused, I didn’t ask what it said).
And a feeling in the room like
someone had just opened a window after a very long day.
She didn’t raise her voice.
But she was the kind of person who walks into a room
and the noise instinctively pulls up a chair.
We talked about leadership. About change.
About what actually holds people together from the inside.
And then she said something simple:
“The opposite of courage?
It’s not fear.
It’s avoidance.”
One of those sentences that makes you stop mid-sip.
Fear is loud.
You can feel it. You can name it.
Avoidance is quiet.
It slips under the radar.
It doesn’t shout, it whispers.
And it shows up in a manager’s life
long before they realize what’s happening…
stealing years of growth and effectiveness along the way.
Then she added one more thing:
“There are three kinds of courage.”
And that’s where the connection became mine.
Managerial.
Deep.
She only named them.
My mind filled in the rest:
🩵 The courage to speak up
Truth. Authenticity. Navigating organizational politics
without paying unnecessary prices.
🩵 The courage to trust
Letting go. Delegating.
Stopping yourself from holding 357 tasks with two hands.
🩵 The courage to experiment
Innovation. Mistakes. Learning. Change.
Actually moving reality—not just moving the cursor.
And suddenly it all snapped into focus:
“Managerial stuckness” isn’t personality.
It’s not workload.
It’s not character.
It’s usually one form of courage
that’s been left unattended for too long.
So before you scroll on
Do a quick internal audit:
Which kind of courage
are you most actively avoiding?
Because right there
exactly there
your next big leadership shift begins.
📌 Next week, I’ll open up the first one: the courage to speak up.
And I promise it will change how you see your team, your boss,
and yourself.
📌 And by the way… there’s one more kind of courage.
Just as deep.
The courage to change.
That one deserves a post of its own.
(Hint: it’s the habits managers pay the highest price for.)
Heart of Management 
Leave a comment