Lessons in Courageous Leadership

Abstract

This chapter tells the story about early career leadership lessons that have endured across a lifetime. The lessons were moments during my early years as an officer in the US Air Force when courageous leadership was required and fostered by my superiors. The key practices of self-assessing to identify strengths and areas for learning, utilizing emotional intelligence to establish and maintain professional collaborative relationships, and speaking truth to power are leadership behaviors that continue to be valuable even as my career transitioned from the Air Force to higher education, both as a professor and as an administrator. The interesting thing about these leadership lessons is that they are now broadly accepted components of effective leadership and included in leadership research and literature. These practices have anchored my leadership through the years and are essential practices to be cultivated in developing leaders.

Citation

Lindsey, J.L. (2021), "Lessons in Courageous Leadership", Breen, J.M., van der Steege, M., Martin, S.S. and Glick-Smith, J.L. (Ed.) Women Courageous, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 233-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-422-720211014