What do you think?
Rate this book
Courage Goes to Work: How to Build Backbones, Boost Performance, and Get Results
The hardest part of a manager’s job isn’t staying organized, meeting deliverable dates, or staying on budget. It’s dealing with people who are too comfortable doing things the way they’ve always been done and too afraid to do things differently - workers who are, as Bill Treasurer puts it, too “comfeartable”. They fail to exert themselves any more than they have to and make their businesses dangerously safe.
Treasurer, a courage-building pioneer, proposes a bold courage. He lays out a step-by-step process that treats courage as a skill that can be developed and strengthened. Treasurer differentiates what he calls the Three Buckets of try Courage, having the guts to take initiative; trust Courage, being willing to follow the lead of others; and tell Courage, being honest and assertive with coworkers and bosses.
Aristotle said that courage is the first virtue because it makes all other virtues possible. It’s as true in business as it is in life. With more courage, workers gain the confidence to take on harder projects, embrace company changes with more enthusiasm, and extend themselves in ways that will benefit their careers and their company.
Treasurer, a courage-building pioneer, proposes a bold courage. He lays out a step-by-step process that treats courage as a skill that can be developed and strengthened. Treasurer differentiates what he calls the Three Buckets of try Courage, having the guts to take initiative; trust Courage, being willing to follow the lead of others; and tell Courage, being honest and assertive with coworkers and bosses.
Aristotle said that courage is the first virtue because it makes all other virtues possible. It’s as true in business as it is in life. With more courage, workers gain the confidence to take on harder projects, embrace company changes with more enthusiasm, and extend themselves in ways that will benefit their careers and their company.
Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2008
12 people are currently reading
103 people want to read
About the author
Bill Treasurer
41 books16 followersBill Treasurer is the Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting (GLC), a courage-building company that exists to help people and organizations be more courageous to drive superior performance. He is dedicated to advancing the new organizational development practice of courage-building, a concept that he introduced in his internationally bestselling book, Courage Goes to Work.
------------------------------------
Bill's newest book is Leadership Two Words at a Time: Simple Truths for Leading Complicated People. It serves as a playbook for new leaders, covering the essentials that will improve performance, effectiveness, and enjoyment.
John Ryan, past president and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership, calls the book "honest, funny, and deeply insightful."
Jeff Hayes, president and CEO of The Myers-Briggs Company says, “I have read many books on leadership during my career, but none have provided the practical guidance reflection and call to action that Leadership Two Words at a Time does...This is truly a must-read playbook, if you will, for every new leader. In fact, it’s a wonderful resource for all leaders.”
------------------------------------
Bill co-authored The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance with U.S. Navy Seal Captain John Havlik (retired).
Tony Bingham, president and CEO of the Association for Talent Development called the book a "valuable resource on what every leader should know, embrace, and practice if they want to be successful in the most meaningful way."
E. Gordon Gee, the current president of West Virginia University, said, "In an age crying out for wise judgment and effective leadership, “The Leadership Killer” is an essential read."
------------------------------------
Bill is the author of A Leadership Kick in the Ass, which focuses on the importance of confidence and humility. The book received rousing endorsements from leadership luminaries such as Ken Blanchard, Marshall Goldsmith, Jim Kouzes, Adam Grant, and many others, and received the Gold Award from the Nonfiction Book Awards. Bill also wrote Leaders Open Doors, a simplified approach to leadership that emphasizes the importance of leaders as opportunity-creators. Bill donates all his royalties from this book to programs that support children with special needs.
Bill is the creator of Courageous Leadership: Using Courage to Transform the Workplace. The comprehensive off-the-shelf courage-building training program has been taught on five continents in twelve countries since being published in 2011.
Bill's first book, Right Risk is about how to take smart risks, and draws on Treasurer's experiences as both an organizational development professional and as a daredevil athlete.
Bill's insights have been featured in hundreds of national and global media outlets, including The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Herald, and Investor's Business Daily, Entrepreneur Magazine, Huffington Post, Leader-to-Leader, Woman's Day, Parent, Redbook, Fitness, American Way, and The Harvard Management Update.
Since 1991, he has conducted over 1000 corporate workshops designed to strengthen people's leadership skills, improve team performance, accelerate innovation, and help executives behave more courageously. Among his clients are NASA, Saks Fifth Avenue, eBay, Accenture, UBS Bank, Spanx, eBay, Lenovo, Walsh Construction, Hugo Boss, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Forest Service, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.
Bill lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife Shannon and their three children, Bina, Alex, and Ian. To contact Bill, email btreasurer@giantleapconsulting.com or go to CourageBuilding.com.
------------------------------------
Bill's newest book is Leadership Two Words at a Time: Simple Truths for Leading Complicated People. It serves as a playbook for new leaders, covering the essentials that will improve performance, effectiveness, and enjoyment.
John Ryan, past president and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership, calls the book "honest, funny, and deeply insightful."
Jeff Hayes, president and CEO of The Myers-Briggs Company says, “I have read many books on leadership during my career, but none have provided the practical guidance reflection and call to action that Leadership Two Words at a Time does...This is truly a must-read playbook, if you will, for every new leader. In fact, it’s a wonderful resource for all leaders.”
------------------------------------
Bill co-authored The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance with U.S. Navy Seal Captain John Havlik (retired).
Tony Bingham, president and CEO of the Association for Talent Development called the book a "valuable resource on what every leader should know, embrace, and practice if they want to be successful in the most meaningful way."
E. Gordon Gee, the current president of West Virginia University, said, "In an age crying out for wise judgment and effective leadership, “The Leadership Killer” is an essential read."
------------------------------------
Bill is the author of A Leadership Kick in the Ass, which focuses on the importance of confidence and humility. The book received rousing endorsements from leadership luminaries such as Ken Blanchard, Marshall Goldsmith, Jim Kouzes, Adam Grant, and many others, and received the Gold Award from the Nonfiction Book Awards. Bill also wrote Leaders Open Doors, a simplified approach to leadership that emphasizes the importance of leaders as opportunity-creators. Bill donates all his royalties from this book to programs that support children with special needs.
Bill is the creator of Courageous Leadership: Using Courage to Transform the Workplace. The comprehensive off-the-shelf courage-building training program has been taught on five continents in twelve countries since being published in 2011.
Bill's first book, Right Risk is about how to take smart risks, and draws on Treasurer's experiences as both an organizational development professional and as a daredevil athlete.
Bill's insights have been featured in hundreds of national and global media outlets, including The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Herald, and Investor's Business Daily, Entrepreneur Magazine, Huffington Post, Leader-to-Leader, Woman's Day, Parent, Redbook, Fitness, American Way, and The Harvard Management Update.
Since 1991, he has conducted over 1000 corporate workshops designed to strengthen people's leadership skills, improve team performance, accelerate innovation, and help executives behave more courageously. Among his clients are NASA, Saks Fifth Avenue, eBay, Accenture, UBS Bank, Spanx, eBay, Lenovo, Walsh Construction, Hugo Boss, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Forest Service, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs.
Bill lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife Shannon and their three children, Bina, Alex, and Ian. To contact Bill, email btreasurer@giantleapconsulting.com or go to CourageBuilding.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 4, 2022
Three Buckets of Courage
TRY Courage is the courage of initiative and action. You often see TRY Courage when people make “first attempts”—for example, whenever you see someone attempt new, skill-stretching, or pioneering tasks.
TRUST Courage is the courage that it takes to relinquish control and rely on others.
TELL Courage is the courage of “voice,” and involves speaking with candor and conviction, especially when the opinions expressed run counter to the group’s.
1. Courageus manager jumps first (role model)
2. Create Safety - The safer people feel, the more risks they are likely to take. People extend themselves when the consequences for doing so are forgiving. Provide air cover.
3. Harness fear
4. Modulate comfort
You have two jobs: leave the company better off than you found it, and leave people better off than you found them. You get the former through the latter.
Courage precedes success. You can fail and still be courageous. Courage is about facing fear and discomfort, not successful outcomes. However, you’ll be more likely to have a successful outcome if you’re behaving with courage.
Remember, workers give their companies only as much trust as their companies give them.
If all you want to be is courageous, go stick a sword down your throat. Courage without brains is like ethics without a soul. There’s smart courage and there’s stupid courage. Just because you’re courageous doesn’t mean you’re applying your courage toward the right aims or in the right way.
TRY Courage is the courage of initiative and action. You often see TRY Courage when people make “first attempts”—for example, whenever you see someone attempt new, skill-stretching, or pioneering tasks.
TRUST Courage is the courage that it takes to relinquish control and rely on others.
TELL Courage is the courage of “voice,” and involves speaking with candor and conviction, especially when the opinions expressed run counter to the group’s.
1. Courageus manager jumps first (role model)
2. Create Safety - The safer people feel, the more risks they are likely to take. People extend themselves when the consequences for doing so are forgiving. Provide air cover.
3. Harness fear
4. Modulate comfort
You have two jobs: leave the company better off than you found it, and leave people better off than you found them. You get the former through the latter.
Courage precedes success. You can fail and still be courageous. Courage is about facing fear and discomfort, not successful outcomes. However, you’ll be more likely to have a successful outcome if you’re behaving with courage.
Remember, workers give their companies only as much trust as their companies give them.
If all you want to be is courageous, go stick a sword down your throat. Courage without brains is like ethics without a soul. There’s smart courage and there’s stupid courage. Just because you’re courageous doesn’t mean you’re applying your courage toward the right aims or in the right way.
March 30, 2011
Good book about instilling courage in the people who work for you. The last chapter also discusses the importance of courage in your daily life.
My favorite quote from the book is:
As I mentioned in the last chapter, the workplace needs your courage. But the rest of your world needs it, too. Courage goes to work wherever you take it. Whether at home, in your place of worship, on the racquetball court, in your civic organizations, or in your community, your courage is always needed. Think what the world would look like with less fear and more courage.
My favorite quote from the book is:
As I mentioned in the last chapter, the workplace needs your courage. But the rest of your world needs it, too. Courage goes to work wherever you take it. Whether at home, in your place of worship, on the racquetball court, in your civic organizations, or in your community, your courage is always needed. Think what the world would look like with less fear and more courage.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews