Why You Need Courage to Reach Your Goals Part 4

In my previous blogs on this topic, I discussed five courage activators from the book Lead from the Middle (purpose, will, risk, rigor and candor), along with the example of Melissa. She had ambitious goals to improve a product launch and faced some difficult obstacles. 

In this blog, I will focus on how to lead with rigor. This is about inventing better solutions, advancing continuous improvements and taking action on them.

Melissa was getting some serious pushback on her proposal to mitigate risks with her product launch.  Leading with rigor means getting to key issues and creating solutions. It also means testing these solutions for successful execution. She needed those around her to be aligned on how to deliver with excellence.

Step 1: Reach out and coordinate with related partners.

She determined the stakeholders and got the right people involved to improve the product launch plan.

Step 2: Develop best practices and make them stick.

She anticipated the concerns about the launch and was prepared with a viable plan and a strong business case. She didn’t go with shortcuts and would ask questions of those who pushed back. When necessary, she reminded others of the company values and asked them how the approach upheld the kind of reputation that would lead to a successful launch.

Step 3: Plan proactively to minimize risks.

Melissa worked with her team to anticipate issues, identify potential pitfalls and build robust risk mitigation plans.

In my next and final blog on courage, I will discuss leading with candor.

-Andrea Zintz, Career Coach