Catalyst West 2011: Nancy Ortberg

How would your organization change if courage was the foundation of your culture?

• “To create a courageous culture, you need to collaborate.”
• “I don’t want to work in an organization where I’m only asked to implement someone else’s vision.”
• “No one can put you on a pedestal unless you let them.”
• “You are not the omni-competent leader that you think you are.”
• “Great leaders do not avoid conflict. Great leaders lead toward it.”
• “We have confused spirituality with terminal niceness.”
• “As a consultant, no one ever comes to you and says, ‘I’m the problem on the team. I need your help.’”
• as a consultant: “When people are looking at their feet, you’re on to something.”
• “When we avoid conflict, we say, ‘We don’t want to hurt her feelings.’ What we really mean is, ‘We don’t want to hurt her feeling when she’s in the room.’”
• “Difficult feedback is part of what it means to be a leader.”
• “There’s a fine line between being courageous and being a jerk.”
• “Allow people to doing something poorly in order that they’ll learn how to do it well.”
• “Do you really want courage? Because courage is not about being famous… The only way to courage is through fear and obstacles. It’s through surrender and fear.”
• “Courage is not a trend, and it’s not a hobby. It’s a character crucible.”