Mastering Moral Courage...Or, Why Leadership Is So Hard

Leaders overcome moral challenges by exercising moral courage. Moral courage is the mastery of the fear of social consequences such as being perceived as disloyal, alienation, ridicule, punishment, job loss, or loss of social status. In some cases, the right choice is crystal clear. In other cases, the correct course of action is not so clear. In the end, leaders must always accept full responsibility for their actions.