Event Coverage

Where's the Confidence? The 4 Quadrants of Courage

Devon Russell

At the Women Leading Travel & Hospitality Roundtable event in Dallas earlier this month, Cindy Solomon, founder of the Courageous Leadership Institute, delivered a keynote presentation on that very topic. Specifically, Solomon spoke of the types of courage needed to focus on one’s personal goals.

The COVID-19 pandemic left us scared and confused, and now women in the workplace have to work even harder just for their voices to be heard, noted Solomon.

“Culturally, we’re taught we shouldn’t be courageous, and if we are, don’t tell anybody,” Solomon said. “Yet men are taught the equally destructive they better darn right be courageous, and if they aren’t, don’t tell anybody.”

According to Solomon, there are four quadrants to courage, each produced as a result of stress or fear:

  1. Blind Courage is addictive; you don’t have to think, just do. It’s the “close your eyes and jump” kind of courage. During the pandemic, blind courage is the easiest way to navigate our foggy future.
  2. Role Courage is comfortable and reliable. It's the ability to find strength in your own skills because you know you're good at what you do, and you're not afraid to fail.
  3. Crisis Courage is the ability to act on instinct and react accordingly. Solomon worked with the University of California, Berkeley to conduct a study on the types of courage shown throughout the average day. Before the pandemic, the average corporate worker used 8 percent to 10 percent of working memory; during the pandemic, they used 60 percent to 65 percent a day.
  4. Core Courage comes from inside, making it the hardest courage quadrant to use. It requires you to think out the situation before taking action. You need to know where you’re going for the future and what you’re going to need to be successful. It's driven by core values and strong internal motivation.

Be outspoken, show off your skills and do it with confidence, Solomon advised the audience of travel and hospitality industry executives. The workplace can be daunting, especially when the majority of workers are men. Yet only one in three women believe that they’re courageous.

We do courageous things every day, so why is that number not higher?

Courage isn’t about being fearless, Solomon explained. It’s about having that fear and choosing to take action in spite of it.