Bravery: the strengths advantage

Bravery is about facing challenges, risks, and opposition with courage

For product and transformation leaders, it’s the strength that enables decisive action when the stakes are high but uncertainty is even higher

At the senior Head of, Director, General Manager, and C-Suite levels, bravery becomes a defining leadership quality where you’re not afraid to earn trust through vulnerability, you’re speaking up and making hard calls that no one else will because it’s the right thing to do, and you’re moving forward rather than staying in paralysis even if it means you could end up in a worse off position

Examples of underuse. A Director in Engineering who avoids brave decisions may delay sunsetting underperforming features, leaving their teams stuck in mediocrity, dealing with tech debt and legacy code that costs them time and effort with every change. A Chief Transformation Officer who sidesteps conflict when risks emerge; allowing toxic behaviours to persist, wasting precious funds, and slowing delivery momentum down each day the risks are not dealt with

Examples of optimal use. A General Manager in Strategy and Transformation who demonstrates bravery might challenge entrenched governance models, reframing them to support agility and resilience. A Chief Product and Transformation Officer who steps forward to reset a failing program (despite heightened political risk) signals integrity and earns credibility across the organisation

Examples of overuse. Bravery taken too far can become reckless. A Head of Product who pushes a radical change through without the appropriate stakeholder alignment and approvals risks destabilising the product, degrading their customer experience, and losing revenue. A General Manager in Transformation who constantly positions themselves as the “hero” who swoops in and fixes things may overshadow their team, creating dependency rather than empowerment

The sweet spot is where bravery confronts reality without tipping into recklessness. Product and transformation leaders who do this well create confidence, momentum, and resilience in the face of uncertainty

Research shows that leaders who know, apply, and maximise their strengths experience higher resilience, stronger influence, and improved performance outcomes. Bravery is just one of the 24 strengths that we explore in The Strengths Advantage

The Strengths Advantage

Book the half-day team workshop to promote courageous decision making and actions, or choose the 90-minute 1:1 leader session to look up where you can dial up or dial down bravery in your leadership actions