A Quiter Kind of Courage For The Year Ahead

At the start of each year, I begin as I hope to end, with lots of energy, a vision and purpose, hope and also openness to what will come.

As the year begins, in my coaching sessions many leaders are already being asked for certainty, clarity, and confidence.

Plans to finalise.Decisions to land.Energy to muster.

Many of you will have rituals that help you to slow down, come back to yourself, and notice what this new year is quietly asking of you. And yet, even with the best intentions, the pace of work has a habit of pulling us quickly back into urgency.

What I notice, time and again, is that the real work of leadership at this moment isn’t about pushing forward. It’s about how we stay.

Courage, despite its reputation, is rarely loud.

It’s the courage to pause rather than react.

To tell the truth when managing perceptions would be easier.

To remain present with uncertainty instead of rushing to false certainty.

To let yourself be seen before you feel completely ready.

Psychology tells us that courage is not the absence of fear, but action taken with fear, in service of what matters most. Eastern wisdom reminds us that courage is not force, but non-avoidance. A willingness to stay with what is, without armouring or turning away.

It’s something that I sit in the fire with every day. The heat forges and shapes my work.

In leadership, this shows up in subtle but powerful ways:

• Naming when a decision doesn’t quite sit right in the body.

• Acknowledging loss and grief during change, rather than bypassing it.

• Saying “I don’t know” without collapsing or posturing.

• Setting boundaries without hardening.

This is not soft leadership. It’s grounded leadership.

And it’s deeply embodied.

You can feel it when courage is present. The breath drops lower. The chest softens. The spine lengthens. There’s less performance, more truth. Less control, more clarity.

So as you step into this year, I’ll leave you with a few gentle enquiries. Not questions to answer quickly, but ones to sit alongside you:

• Where am I mistaking urgency for courage?

• What am I currently tolerating that my body has already answered?

• If I trusted myself a little more, what conversation might I stop avoiding?

• What would it mean to lead from presence rather than pressure this year?

Much of my work with leaders begins here. Not with tools or techniques, but with creating the conditions for this kind of honest, embodied reflection. From there, clearer decisions, braver conversations, and more sustainable leadership naturally follow.

If this resonates, there’s more to explore together. Not about becoming a different kind of leader, but about returning to what you already know, underneath the noise.

Here’s to a year of quieter courage, deeper clarity, and leadership that feels true.

Warmly

Carroll