Brave Enough to Lead. Supported Enough to Stay That Way.
- Merrisha Gordon
- Mar 15
- 3 min read
I’ve been thinking about courage in leadership a lot lately.
Not the dramatic kind. Not the standing on a stage, award-winning, headline-grabbing kind.
The quiet kind.
The kind that happens when you see something wrong and decide, despite everything, not to look away.
I know what that feels like. Not from a client story. From my own.
The Meeting I Nearly Walked Away From
Early in my career, I discovered that a group of staff were being paid unfairly.
It wasn’t subtle. It was clear. And it was wrong.
I raised it.
I was told to leave it.
I didn’t.
I went back. I pushed. I named what I was seeing and refused to let it be minimised. The pressure to drop it was real. The message, spoken and unspoken, was that this wasn’t my fight to pick.
But I couldn’t let it go.
At the time, I thought I simply had strong values. A sense of fairness I couldn’t switch off.
I know now it’s more than that.
That fierce, immovable sense of justice is one of my neurodivergent traits. It’s part of how I’m wired.
And it took me years to understand that this wasn’t a flaw to manage.
It was the thing that made me effective as a leader.
Courage in Leadership Isn’t One Size Fits All
For some leaders, courage looks like speaking up in a room where no one else will.
For others, it’s admitting they’ve got it wrong.
For some, especially those who’ve spent years being told they’re too much, too direct, too different, it’s simply daring to lead as themselves.
Brené Brown calls it daring bravely.
I call it one of the hardest and most important things a leader can do.
Because the leaders I work with who are doing this well aren’t always the most qualified or the most senior. They’re the ones willing to stay curious. To respond, not just react. To keep asking the uncomfortable questions, even when the system is pushing them to just get things done.
That’s not something you’re born with or without.
It grows or shrinks depending on the support around you.
What Happens When Courage Isn’t Supported?
Many leaders are navigating extraordinary pressure right now.
Workforce shortages. Financial constraints. Constant change. The expectation to lead transformation while managing daily crises.
And underneath all of that?
The quiet exhaustion of leaders holding space for everyone else while running on empty themselves.
Courage in leadership can’t be sustained in that environment without support. Not indefinitely.
Not without someone asking the questions no one else will. Helping you see the patterns. Reminding you who you are when the pressure tries to flatten you.
That’s what leadership coaching does.
It doesn’t give you courage.
It creates the conditions where courage becomes possible again.
Where Is Your Service Right Now?
When things go wrong in your team, do people speak up or stay quiet?
When your leaders are struggling, do they feel safe enough to say so?
Is courage something your culture supports — or something it gradually wears down?
If you’re curious, I’ve created a free diagnostic, The Sustainable Service Health Check.
Four minutes. An honest picture of where your strengths are and where the gaps might be.
No judgement. Just clarity.
Ready to Talk?
If any of this has resonated, I’d love to have a conversation.
Not a pitch. Just an honest exchange about where you are and whether leadership coaching could make the difference.
Because brave leadership isn’t just better for the leader.
It’s better for the staff they lead. The teams they build. And the people those services exist to serve.
The future of leadership needs more courage.
Let’s make sure it’s supported.
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