“I’ll take courage from that! Thank you.”, she replied.

What did she say? Did I hear her correctly? “I’ll take courage from that.” All I did was try to encourage her.

And then it dawned on me…

The true purpose of encouragement is to help people to be courageous. It’s to help people take courage.

We had been at the neighbourhood play structure with friends, chatting as our children cavorted together. My friend’s wife was telling us how she was planning to go back to school to get training and certification as a counselor.

Knowing who she was, her desire to help others, and her natural empathy I told her how I thought that was a good fit. I expounded on my thoughts to point out a number of other qualities I had observed in her that I believed made her a natural for counseling.

I was merely trying to affirm her decision. Expressed another way, I was ‘encouraging’ her. However, it wasn’t until I heard her reply that I began to understand the power of encouragement. Encouragement instills courage in others.

It’s pretty obvious isn’t it? Now that you look at it, “courage” is the central element in “encouragement”. Encouraging is defined as “inspiring with courage, spirit and confidence.”

Do you want to lead courageously? Do you want to live courageously?

I have no doubt you responded in the affirmative. In fact, I would venture to guess that if by chance you responded in the negative it is because you have somehow committed yourself to the false belief that courage is beyond you.

Let’s define courage. I love John Wayne’s definition of courage:

“Courage is being scared spitless, but saddling up anyway.”

Courage is not being fearless; it is simply not letting your fear stop you. It is moving forward in the face of fear.

Everyone battles fear to a greater or lesser degree. We all must choose courage in order to succeed. We must choose to move forward in situations we find intimidating, and even overwhelming.

Do you know that courage is not a ‘gift’ or an ‘ability’? It is a choice. It is an act of your will. Therefore, everyone has an equal opportunity to be courageous because we all have a will. We can all choose to move forward when faced with fear.

Back to my question: do you want to live and lead with courage? Of course you do.

Do you want those whom you lead to work with courage? Of course you do.

Do you as a leader want to somehow help others to live and work with more courage? I trust you do – if you don’t then perhaps you need to question your motivation to lead.

Will courageous people in an organization propel the organization forward? Absolutely! Employees who are afraid to make decisions, afraid to ask questions, afraid to offer input, afraid to clarify expectations, afraid to try new ways and means to improve products and services, afraid to recognize and offer the true strengths and abilities they possess, and afraid to take the risks necessary to maximize their potential, will clearly limit the growth potential of your organization.

In light of the massive impact that courageous workers can have on an organization, should CEOs not be Chief “Encouragement” Officers?! Should not CEOs and leaders of any sort make it their ongoing objective to instill courage into their organization – to encourage their people? I think so!

I believe the primary role of an effective leader is to encourage their people.

Encouragement is not flattery, it is not shallow platitudes, and it is not simply passing praise or empty pleasantries. No, encouragement is meant to instill courage into the heart of an individual. Great encouragement reaches into the depth of a person’s heart to inspire them with truth that can heal hurts, supercharge spirits, power-up perseverance, catapult confidence, energize engagement, propel performance, escalate excitement, fortify faith, highlight hope and ignite inspiration.

Encouragement is a powerful accelerant for peak performance. Great leaders make it their business to hone their encouragement skills and prodigiously plant encouragement into the hearts of their people.

Courageous organizations are comprised of courageous people. And courageous people are nurtured by Chief Encouragement Officers.