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your courage compass
The
Guardian
of the
People
You’re the Guardian of the People—the one who stands watch when others fall asleep at the wheel.
You don’t just lead for yourself—you lead for the whole. You anticipate risk, see what could go wrong, and create systems strong enough to hold the weight of a community. When things get chaotic, you become steady. You are the backbone of trust, loyalty, and collective care.
But your brilliance can turn against you when fear takes the reins. You scan for danger so often, it’s hard to rest. You gather counsel but still second-guess your instincts. You over-prepare, under-trust, and sometimes stay too small—just to stay safe. When loyalty becomes hypervigilance, relationships suffer and your leadership stalls.
Your next level of leadership is about building trust—in yourself, in others, and in the power of small, steady steps forward. Progress doesn’t require perfect certainty. It starts with grounded action and shared responsibility. And when your steadiness is fueled by self-belief and a willingness to move forward—your vigilance becomes a lighthouse for those in the storm.
Explore all the COURAGE types further below
Core Courage:
Loyalty
Motto:
“Do the next right thing.” — Glennon Doyle
Keywords:
Steady • Principled • Vigilant
Gift to the Collective:
A stabilizing presence that protects what matters, anticipates risk, and spots danger before it strikes.
Shadow Tendency:
Worst-case-scenario thinking, over-dependence on authority, and analysis paralysis.
Limiting Beliefs:
If I make the wrong choice, everything will fall apart. If I trust too much, I’ll be let down. It’s safer to doubt than to believe.
Legacy Figures:
Rosa Parks, George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower
Growth Path:
Anchor yourself in self-trust. Move forward through grounded experimentation instead of waiting for full certainty. Strengthen your inner compass so your decisions reflect both courage and care. When you lead from trust instead of fear, you become the calm in the chaos—and others rise with you.
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The Myth of Aligned Values
They sat across from each other in the strategy session, arms crossed, nodding politely—but not really hearing. The Possibility Prophet wanted to move. Fast. Propose bold policy. Break the mold. The Guardian of the People wanted to slow down. Anticipate risk. Secure buy-in. Protect the mission. By the end of the hour, both walked out frustrated—certain the other was the problem.
Our culture tells us this is misalignment. That someone failed the purity test. That we should cleanse the team and cut the apostate. That everyone in the party must agree. That we shouldn’t date someone from “the other side.” That difference is disloyalty.
This is bullshit—and it’s dangerous. Every government built on a single ideology has ended in collapse or catastrophe. Groupthink is a cancer, not a cure.
We don’t need shared values. We need shared purpose. And the courage to trust. To see each other as human. To question our own assumptions. To look inward before lashing outward. To hold creative tension instead of retreating into the safety of sameness.
Change that endures doesn’t come from purity—but from friction held in shared mission. Philadelphia, 1776—not Moscow, 1936. The visionary needs the pragmatist. The innovator needs the protector. When the Possibility Prophet welcomes resistance as refinement—not rejection—and the Guardian sees urgency not as recklessness, but as momentum to shape and test, something rare emerges: outcomes greater than the sum of their parts. That’s not compromise. That’s transformation.
How are you complicit in creating the conditions you claim not to want? How is it going? And are you brave enough to consider leadering differently?
Contemplative Questions:
How are you complicit in creating the very conditions you claim to resist? How’s it working? And are you brave enough to lead differently?
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From city halls to global nonprofits, we’ve supported over 1,000 changemakers in becoming better leaders by becoming better humans. We don’t fix broken systems—we train the leaders who do.
Join The Courage Lab & get instant access to:
→ Monthly Lab Sessions
→ Personal Arête Framework
→ Community Voxer Thread
→ Monthly Peer Support Call
→ Practical Tools & Practices
