Briefly Noted: An Inspirational Q&A with a Few Brave Leaders
Not all of the fifty-some brave leaders we interviewed for The Brave Leaders Project ended up in our book, simply because of space limitations. On our blog, you can find some of those full-length interviews, with people like Unilever’s former CEO Paul Polman, or doctor-turned-hospital-clown Wellington Nogueira.
In addition to those full-length interviews, we want to share with you some of the most important and inspiring insights from the remaining interviews we held. As with our previous blog post, we encourage you to savor these quotes: Take your time with each of them, let them sink in, and reflect on what they mean for you and how you can implement their lessons in your own life. Enjoy!
What advice do you have for anyone looking to make meaningful and lasting change?
“The organizational culture makes all the difference. To change something demands support from others and for employees to be engaged.”
— Philip Eklöf, CEO, Office Recycling; Sweden
“Whenever I do something, I think about whether my actions have sustainable impact. It has to benefit everyone if it is going to last.”
— Baudeler Magloire, Co-founder, SOIL; Haiti
“Our views ultimately dictate all of our actions. Deeply examining our core views and exploring to what extent they are empowering or disempowering us, and letting go of those that disempower us and replacing them with ones that empower us is literally life transforming.”
— Paul Vincent Cable, Co-founder, EnSo Impact; United Kingdom
Where do you get your courage?
“I am true to myself. I don’t give up easily. One of the things we want in the world is to be liked. This is one of the most dangerous things and hinders us from being true to ourselves.”
— Karin Tenelius, CEO, Tuff Leadership Training; Sweden
How do you develop courage in yourself or others?
“First, accept that things don’t happen immediately. Second, take small steps toward your goals—be tenacious! Third, sharpen your communication skills and take a 360-degree position by looking at other points of view.”
— Carla Jones, CEO, Allergy UK; United Kingdom
How do you define someone with courage; who is a brave leader?
“Courage is when you take on a problem that is larger than you are.”
— Sasha Kramer, Co-founder, SOIL; United States
“I think that a brave leader, first of all, is someone who dares to stand up and say they believe in things that may not be accepted yet in his or her surroundings. He or she dares to do it from A to Z and doesn’t give up easily. I think that we can all be brave people on many levels. It could be within a small organization, or on a city level. It doesn’t matter, as long as you stand up and try to change something that you believe in changing for the better.”
— Jan Hellman, Chairman, The Non-Violence Project Foundation; Switzerland
“Their attitude, flexibility, and adaptability are the telling signs. Our research shows that strong communication skills and the ability to step back and see the whole picture are key to success. Education encompasses knowledge, skills, and attitude. The attitude is the most difficult to change. One thing we did is we implemented mandatory courses in self-reflection in order to increase self-knowing. I believe that brave leaders are best seen in action, which is worth more than their words alone.”
— Katrin Muff, Dean, Lausanne Business School; Switzerland
“Some people are bigger risk takers and they also want to do something good for their community. These kinds of people are the entrepreneurial leaders. Also, some people are personally faced with problems that they need to respond to because the problem is life-threatening, like waterborne diseases. In that situation, they want to start something new to solve the problem. It [has to do with] willpower and determination.”
— Rameswor Adhikari,
Training Officer, Environment and Public Health Organization; Nepal
What is the future of brave leadership? Is the next generation more prepared to have the courage to change things?
“Your question makes me think of this one Bio-Sand entrepreneur in Nepal, Manish Guragain, who started his own sustainable business when he was quite young to support his father. This relates to ENPHO’s sustainability values of ensuring that leadership remains strong for the duration of the project. I am hopeful that more people, like Naran, will take the lead in furthering water treatment technologies and improving water sanitation in Nepal in general.”
— Rameswor Adhikari
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