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Courage and Discretion: Two Essential Qualities

July 18, 2008 RSS Feed Print

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Michael Wade

I've written earlier about the importance of trust, both from the standpoint of integrity and reliability. There are two qualities that bolster trust—and they deserve far more discussion than is given in the average workplace.

The first is courage. Do you have the courage to walk away from an abusive working environment, a demand for unethical behavior, or an improper relationship? Are you fearful of the consequences? That will certainly be the case if courage is involved, because courage is not the absence of fear but the control of fear. Remember the standard rule in negotiations: The side that cares the least has the most power. We see this power rule in marriages, offices, and politics. By being courageous, we have not removed fear—we've simply decided that something matters more than our fear.

The second quality is discretion. Forget what you've heard about letting it all hang out. There are plenty of times when people would rather experience your caring than your candor. They don't want to learn about your sex life, or whether you wear underwear, or what you think of their spouses. They aren't interested in what you smoked in the Sixties or whether you think they could stand to lose a few pounds. They want discretion.

Now you may say these qualities conflict on occasion, and you'd be correct. There are moments when courage demands less discretion and greater candor, and when discretion restrains courage. Both qualities require the regulator of good judgment. They are essential, however, if you are going to succeed in the workplace and, for that matter, in life. Be brave and be discreet.

Michael Wade writes Execupundit.com, an eclectic combination of management advice, observations, and links. A partner with the Phoenix firm of Sanders Wade Rodarte Consulting Inc., he has advised private and public-sector organizations for more than 30 years.

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Do doctors have the courage to say no hospitals that give patients used inhalers?
Do fear control doctors since bad laws were passed that upset the balance of power between hospitals and doctors!
Are doctors able to advocate for their patients any more?
Could the deterioration of the health care in united stated in the last 20 years is due to fear and silence of the physicians?
Can the organization that claim interest in health care quality conducts a research to study the fear culture among physicians?
Did HCQIA-1986 law that was written by a hospital lawyer caused the deterioration of the health care system we are experiencing now in US by subdue physicians to hospitals and powerful peers?
Did we give the rat the key of the storage room when we empowered hospitals over physicians? Was the health care system shifted by the power of the hospitals from what patients need to what bring more money and improve the bottom line of the hospital even if it is not needed by the hospital? Could this discrepancy explain the current paradox of most expensive health system in the world but worst system in all quality measures among 12 developed nations?
When are we going to wake up before it is too late?????????
From a physician who experienced the struggle and dared to say no!

fighting for my patients and the integrity of medicine! of WV 8:37PM July 21, 2008

powerful and important, both for individual and organzational integrity and trust which are important lubricants for success @ both levels!

JJ of PA 12:38PM July 21, 2008

On Courage:
I've been pressured to lie, cheat, steal and bribe in my professional career. Looking back, I have come to regret only those times when I caved in to the pressure. Justification is much easier in the short haul. "I'm just following orders, so I'm not really responsible." "It's not really that big a deal."
Yeah, you can lose your job if you stand your ground, but you will definitely lose your self respect, and very likely the respect of those who mean the most to you, if you don't.
On Discretion:
I cannot count the times in my life when I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. I can count on one hand, and still have fingers left over, the times I wish I'd spoken up. Foot-in-mouth disease runs epidemic in my life.
Where walking this fine line between courage and discretion gets real sticky is its requirement for a functioning moral compass - not a very popular topic in today's tolerance-focused society. Espousing any system of right and wrong is eschewed as being intolerant. Yet we howl at the latest Dilbert comic strip series as Dilbert quickly rises to management stardom with his damaged moral compass.
The fact is, we can't have it both ways. And it takes real guts in a values-neutral society to take a stand when it really matters.

Ken Ferry of IN 9:54AM July 21, 2008