Take Heart. A Call To Courage.

Take Heart. A Call To Courage.

Good morning,

My first Leadership Lab virtual cohort has just finished, and it was a smashing success. The next one will be running on the 14th and 15th of August, and you can find more information by clicking here. Only 25/30 spots remaining.

At the core of my keynote on change and adaptability is a call to courage.

Change creates uncertainty and unpredictability.

This is very much opposed to the stability and predictability that we crave as humans.

Therefore, to step into the unknown and deal with the angst created by change requires courage.

Not the grandiose, run-into-a-burning-building type of courage, but a quiet, determined courage to take on the challenges of life and emerge victorious.

When we are trying to encourage people, we often say, "Take heart."

This is because the root of the word courage, "cor", means heart.

And today, this is exactly my message to you:

Take heart!

I know that change can be scary and overwhelming. But it's a process that's necessary for progress to occur. I mean this as literally as possible.

We cannot create progress when we think, act, and feel like we did yesterday.

Growth only comes from change.

Here's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the brilliant mind behind one of my favorite characters of all time, Sherlock Holmes. On top of being a great novelist, he also wrote incredible poems. And one of his poems is called "Take Heart."

So, I'll allow him to take us home for today's message.

Take Heart

When our souls are filled with fear,

When the path is dull and drear,

When the wind is chill and strong,

When the way is rough and long.

Take heart!


When vague terror fills our breast,

When forebodings break our rest,

When we search for any light

In the black encircling night,

Take heart!


When with feeble hands we grope

For some faint elusive hope,

When we wander hand in hand

Through the gloomy twilight land.

Take heart!


Courage, comrade! Courage still!

We will breast the weary hill!

Hand in hand we scale the height,

Till we reach the golden light.

Take heart!


Erik


Whenever you are ready, here's how I can help:

  1. Book me to speak at your event or next team meeting.
  2. Book me to deliver a workshop for your team.

Click here to enquire about any of the above.

To view or add a comment, sign in

More articles by Erik Kruger

  • Leadership Loneliness

    Leadership Loneliness

    Life update: This week I am focused on scripting and recording a masterclass on how leaders can better deal with…

    1 Comment
  • Are You Ok?

    Are You Ok?

    Life Update: I've just come back from running 4x workshops in JHB around change and psychological safety. Spending the…

    7 Comments
  • Me & You?

    Me & You?

    Good morning, Most leaders don’t need more cognitive horsepower; they need more depth. I completed my Masters in…

    1 Comment
  • Creating Depth in Your Team

    Creating Depth in Your Team

    Good morning, My most requested workshop is around the topic of psychological safety. To be honest, I never thought I'd…

    3 Comments
  • How To Change a Team

    How To Change a Team

    Good morning, Here are two sessions I recently ran with the same team. In session 1, we discussed the ideal future…

    3 Comments
  • Leadership Lab

    Leadership Lab

    Good morning, Last year, I hosted my first Leadership Lab event. Leaders loved it and begged me to do it again.

    2 Comments
  • The Obviousness of Team Improvement

    The Obviousness of Team Improvement

    Good morning, A team is simply a collection of relationships. Generating MCMC proposals by randomly rotating the…

  • The Team Reboot

    The Team Reboot

    Sometimes it's good to hit refresh for a team. If a team is doing well, it's an opportunity to acknowledge that what…

    1 Comment
  • 2 Mistakes That Stall Team Progress

    2 Mistakes That Stall Team Progress

    Here's the thing. Changing a team is hard.

  • Apply this concise strategy for team success

    Apply this concise strategy for team success

    In 1911, it was a race to see who could get to the South Pole first. You had an English team headed up by Robert Scott…

    1 Comment

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics