Is courage the same as naivety?
I had the honor of being the last speaker of the day at an online conference with around 1,500 people.
The theme was Courage, and I decided not to talk about courage as an abstract leadership concept.
Instead, I wanted to tell the stories of two heroes I had met.
One was Jaako, who decided to go on a 2,000-kilometer bike ride without much preparation.
The other was my son’s friend Andreas, who was nine years old when he decided he wanted to learn how to ice skate.
Two very different situations.
But both taught me something about courage.
Courage does not always look intelligent
When we talk about courage, we often imagine someone who knows exactly what they are doing.
A strong leader making a difficult decision.
An entrepreneur taking a calculated risk.
Someone standing up and saying something unpopular.
But sometimes courage looks completely different.
Sometimes it looks like someone saying:
“I don’t know if I can do this, but I’m going to try.”
And from the outside, that can look a lot like naivety.
That is what made Jaako’s story interesting to me.
He decided to ride 2,000 kilometers without the kind of preparation you might normally expect for such a challenge.
You could look at that and say:
“That’s crazy.”
Or:
“That’s irresponsible.”
Or perhaps:
“That’s courageous.”
Maybe the difference depends on what happens next.
Courage means moving despite uncertainty
I don’t believe courage means having no fear.
If there is no uncertainty, no risk and no emotional challenge, there may not be much courage involved.
Courage is about moving forward even when you don’t have complete certainty about the outcome.
That is true in leadership too.
You may have to make a decision without having all the information.
You may need to give difficult feedback.
You may need to challenge an established way of working.
You may need to say, “I don’t know.”
You may need to admit that something isn’t working.
None of these things are comfortable.
But leaders who always wait until everything is perfectly safe and predictable may wait forever.
Then there was Andreas
Andreas was nine years old when he wanted to learn how to ice skate.
Think about a child learning something completely new.
You put the skates on.
You stand up.
And suddenly the floor is slippery.
You fall.
You get up.
You fall again.
There is no guarantee that you will become good at it.
But children often have something adults lose:
They are willing to be beginners.
They don’t necessarily worry about looking stupid.
They try.
They fail.
They try again.
And eventually, they improve.
That is courage too.
What can leaders learn from a nine-year-old?
A lot.
In organizations, people often want to appear competent.
We want to have the right answer.
We want to look prepared.
We want to avoid mistakes.
But innovation, learning and change require us to do things we have not mastered yet.
That means leaders need to create environments where people can say:
“I don’t know.”
“I have an idea.”
“Let’s try it.”
“I made a mistake.”
“Can you help me?”
These statements should not be treated as signs of weakness.
They can be signs that people are willing to learn.
Courage needs responsibility
There is an important distinction, though.
Courage does not mean doing something reckless simply because it feels exciting.
There is a difference between:
“I’m scared, but I believe this is worth trying.”
and
“I haven’t thought about the consequences, but I’ll do it anyway.”
The first can be courage.
The second can be naivety.
Good leadership requires both courage and judgment.
Take the risk when the potential value is worth it.
Prepare when preparation matters.
Ask for advice when you need it.
And when you don’t know the answer, be honest about it.
Courage is not the absence of thinking.
It is the willingness to act when certainty is impossible.
Courage in communication
For me, courage also shows up in everyday communication.
It can take courage to have the conversation you have been avoiding.
To tell someone that their behavior is affecting the team.
To ask your manager for support.
To disagree respectfully.
To apologize.
To give honest feedback.
To receive feedback without becoming defensive.
These moments may not look heroic.
There is no stage.
No audience of 1,500 people.
No applause.
But they can have a huge impact on trust and relationships.
Sometimes the most courageous thing a leader can do is simply say what needs to be said — with clarity and respect.
Courage creates movement
If we wait for perfect confidence before taking action, we may never move.
You don’t need to feel fearless.
You need enough courage to take the next step.
For Jaako, it was getting on the bike.
For Andreas, it was stepping onto the ice.
For a leader, it might be starting a difficult conversation.
For a team, it might be trying a new approach.
For an organization, it might be changing something that has worked for years but no longer works today.
The first step does not have to be perfect.
It just has to be taken.
My question to you
So, is courage the same as naivety?
I don’t think so.
But sometimes they can look very similar from the outside.
The difference is often found in our intention, our awareness and our willingness to learn from what happens next.
Courage says:
“I know this may be difficult, but I believe it is worth trying.”
Naivety says:
“Nothing can go wrong.”
We don’t need leaders who believe nothing can go wrong.
We need leaders who are willing to move forward, learn, adapt and take responsibility when things don’t go according to plan.
That is the kind of courage I believe we need.
And sometimes, we can learn it from a man on a 2,000-kilometer bike ride.
Or from a nine-year-old putting on ice skates for the first time.
Where could you use a little more courage today?
Courage does not always look intelligent
When we talk about courage, we often imagine someone who knows exactly what they are doing.
A strong leader making a difficult decision.
An entrepreneur taking a calculated risk.
Someone standing up and saying something unpopular.
But sometimes courage looks completely different.
Sometimes it looks like someone saying:
“I don’t know if I can do this, but I’m going to try.”
And from the outside, that can look a lot like naivety.
That is what made Jaako’s story interesting to me.
He decided to ride 2,000 kilometers without the kind of preparation you might normally expect for such a challenge.
You could look at that and say:
“That’s crazy.”
Or:
“That’s irresponsible.”
Or perhaps:
“That’s courageous.”
Maybe the difference depends on what happens next.
Courage means moving despite uncertainty
I don’t believe courage means having no fear.
If there is no uncertainty, no risk and no emotional challenge, there may not be much courage involved.
Courage is about moving forward even when you don’t have complete certainty about the outcome.
That is true in leadership too.
You may have to make a decision without having all the information.
You may need to give difficult feedback.
You may need to challenge an established way of working.
You may need to say, “I don’t know.”
You may need to admit that something isn’t working.
None of these things are comfortable.
But leaders who always wait until everything is perfectly safe and predictable may wait forever.
Then there was Andreas
Andreas was nine years old when he wanted to learn how to ice skate.
Think about a child learning something completely new.
You put the skates on.
You stand up.
And suddenly the floor is slippery.
You fall.
You get up.
You fall again.
There is no guarantee that you will become good at it.
But children often have something adults lose:
They are willing to be beginners.
They don’t necessarily worry about looking stupid.
They try.
They fail.
They try again.
And eventually, they improve.
That is courage too.
What can leaders learn from a nine-year-old?
A lot.
In organizations, people often want to appear competent.
We want to have the right answer.
We want to look prepared.
We want to avoid mistakes.
But innovation, learning and change require us to do things we have not mastered yet.
That means leaders need to create environments where people can say:
“I don’t know.”
“I have an idea.”
“Let’s try it.”
“I made a mistake.”
“Can you help me?”
These statements should not be treated as signs of weakness.
They can be signs that people are willing to learn.
Courage needs responsibility
There is an important distinction, though.
Courage does not mean doing something reckless simply because it feels exciting.
There is a difference between:
“I’m scared, but I believe this is worth trying.”
and
“I haven’t thought about the consequences, but I’ll do it anyway.”
The first can be courage.
The second can be naivety.
Good leadership requires both courage and judgment.
Take the risk when the potential value is worth it.
Prepare when preparation matters.
Ask for advice when you need it.
And when you don’t know the answer, be honest about it.
Courage is not the absence of thinking.
It is the willingness to act when certainty is impossible.
Courage in communication
For me, courage also shows up in everyday communication.
It can take courage to have the conversation you have been avoiding.
To tell someone that their behavior is affecting the team.
To ask your manager for support.
To disagree respectfully.
To apologize.
To give honest feedback.
To receive feedback without becoming defensive.
These moments may not look heroic.
There is no stage.
No audience of 1,500 people.
No applause.
But they can have a huge impact on trust and relationships.
Sometimes the most courageous thing a leader can do is simply say what needs to be said — with clarity and respect.
Courage creates movement
If we wait for perfect confidence before taking action, we may never move.
You don’t need to feel fearless.
You need enough courage to take the next step.
For Jaako, it was getting on the bike.
For Andreas, it was stepping onto the ice.
For a leader, it might be starting a difficult conversation.
For a team, it might be trying a new approach.
For an organization, it might be changing something that has worked for years but no longer works today.
The first step does not have to be perfect.
It just has to be taken.
My question to you
So, is courage the same as naivety?
I don’t think so.
But sometimes they can look very similar from the outside.
The difference is often found in our intention, our awareness and our willingness to learn from what happens next.
Courage says:
“I know this may be difficult, but I believe it is worth trying.”
Naivety says:
“Nothing can go wrong.”
We don’t need leaders who believe nothing can go wrong.
We need leaders who are willing to move forward, learn, adapt and take responsibility when things don’t go according to plan.
That is the kind of courage I believe we need.
And sometimes, we can learn it from a man on a 2,000-kilometer bike ride.
Or from a nine-year-old putting on ice skates for the first time.
Where could you use a little more courage today?
