What's That About?
By Les Mottosky
Courage might be the pinnacle demonstration of the human spirit.
But there is a circumstance when it doesn't matter. Without credibility courage is ineffectual. It still has some worth, but it has far less leverage. Whether that credibility is lacking with others or – more detrimentally – in ourselves.
Courage is what gets us to open our mouth. And with interpersonal settings – friends, family or workplace – credibility determines whether any minds are open to hearing what we have to say.
Many leadership books imply the sequence of courage, action, success. But in reality this skips two significant factors. In practice the steps are competence, credibility, courage and then influence.
In a model of leadership, the competence builds credibility. Credibility provides the confidence to speak up. Then that displayed courage has a much greater chance of changing minds.
In certain settings, courage is valuable because there's no credibility.
Think of the junior employee who points out a safety flaw, ethical issue, or strategic blind spot. They may not be believed immediately, but their courage still has intrinsic value. The organization may ignore them today and realize months later they were right.
This is why courage isn't worthless without credibility. It's just less likely to influence others.
Let's assume competence is table-stakes. One likely doesn't have a job for long if they aren't able to do it. And family and friends are in your life, because you know how to nurture relationships.
Now we can check out credibility, because that's where the rubber really hits the road.
External credibility amplifies courage – it makes bravery matter. If your colleagues don't believe you're competent, understand the business, or consistently deliver results, then even brilliant ideas may be dismissed.
This is why innovators first earn respect by solving practical problems before challenging bigger assumptions.
Internal credibility is just as important. Through the lens of the Law of Correspondence (As above, so below. As within, so without.), credibility with ourselves is the anchor of all external credibility. It's the starting line. If you don't trust your own judgment —because you haven't followed through on commitments, developed expertise, or tested your ideas— then courage often becomes performative rather than grounded.
People around us will feel this. And that feeling determines their willingness to be influenced.
If courage is our voice, credibility is our volume. Without one, we'll never be heard. Without the other, we'll have nothing worth saying.
So maybe courage and credibility aren't separate virtues after all?
Credibility might simply be courage practiced consistently enough that others—and eventually ourselves—learn to trust it.
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Les Mottosky
Adaptation Strategist // I help organizations turn creativity into their competitive advantage by aligning leadership, culture and strategy to unlock adaptive innovations.
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