When General John Reynolds was killed in the first day’s fighting at Gettysburg, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock took charge on the battlefield. He recommended to General George Meade that the Union Army continue the fight at Gettysburg. He selected the ground on which the army deployed to fight for the second and third day.

Major General Hancock knew that his presence on the battlefield would encourage and embolden his soldiers to stand fast and fight because he was with them through the thick of the fighting. Hancock directed the action in the Union center until wounded. General Hancock led from the front with courageous leadership and by doing so inspired his troops to greatness during Pickett’s Charge on the third day of the Gettysburg Battle. Today’s people are looking for the same kind of courageous leadership from their leaders. They need to see courageous leadership from you. They need to see you lead from the front and to inspire them daily toward mission accomplishment. They need you to take a stand on what is right or wrong. They need you to set the example and be the example of Authentic Leadership. Courageous leadership is setting and living the standards daily and being an authentic role model example for them.

Courageous leadership is living your core values and following them daily. Courageous leadership is about integrity. Integrity is the cornerstone of all leadership actions, for without it there is no trust in the leader, no confidence in their actions and their words have no meaning. A courageous leader has to have the ability to make tough decisions and the ability to expect others to make tough decisions. It takes courage to decide to do what is right and not necessarily, what feels good and what fun is at

the time.