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by increasing your heart rate and blood pressure. The limbic system fires up far more intensely when it
perceives a danger than a reward due to the inherent negativity bias of the human brain. Bad news sticks
longer in memory than good news. Unpleasant experiences impact the brain more powerfully than
pleasant ones. In uncertain situations, people tend to overestimate risk but underestimate potential
reward. So what does this mean? The threat may be exaggerated or imaginary instead of being real.
Recognize that your fear may be irrational. Then reflect on questions like these: How would others
effectively respond in your situation? What’s the worst that could happen? What skills do you already
possess that could help you through it? What growth or development could you derive from it? By
considering these questions, you activate the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, which inhibits limbic system
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arousal. Result? Your fear subsides.

Tips to develop Courage
1. Facing a challenging issue? Prepare for tough stands against the grain. Taking a tough stand
demands confidence in what you’re saying along with the humility that you might be wrong—one of
life’s paradoxes. To prepare to take the lead on a tough issue, work on your stand through mental
interrogation until you can clearly state in a few sentences what your stand is and why you hold it.
Build the business case. How do others win? Ask others for advice. Scope the problem, consider
options, pick one, develop a rationale, then go with it until proven wrong. Consider the opposing view.
Develop a strong case against your stand. Prepare responses to it. Expect pushback.

2. Laid back? Step into the fray. None of your business? Tend to shy away from courage situations?
Why? What’s getting in your way? Are you prone to give up in tough situations, fear exposing
yourself, don’t like conflict? Ask yourself—what’s the downside of delivering a message you think is
right and will eventually help the organization but may cause someone short-term pain? What if it
turns out you were wrong? Treat any misinterpretations as chances to learn. What if you were the
target person or group? Even though it might hurt, would you appreciate it if someone brought the
data to your attention in time for you to fix it with minimal damage? What would you think of a person
you later found out knew about it and didn’t come forward, and you had to spend inordinate amounts
of time and political currency to fix it? Follow your convictions. Follow due process. Step up to the
plate and be responsible, win or lose. People will think better of you in the long-term.

3. Not being heard? Go up the chain if you must. Sometimes the seriousness of the situation calls
for more drastic action. Keeping in mind you are doing this for the collective benefit of the
organization and that personal gain or vengeance is not at stake, be prepared to go all the way. Even
if it pits you against a colleague or even a boss. If your initial message is rejected, covered, denied,
hidden, or glossed over and you are still convinced of its accuracy, go up the chain. Continue until it’s
dealt with or someone in power two levels or more above the event or person asks you to stop. If you
have a mentor, seek their counsel along the way. A caution: In a study of whistle-blowers, 100% of
the failures spoke in general terms, tying their message to lofty values such as integrity. All the
successes dealt with the specific issue as it was—problem and consequences. They didn’t generalize
at all.

4. Talking to the wrong people? Provide information to the right person. The basic rule is to deliver
it to the person who can do the most with it. Limit your passing of the information to one or as few
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