What Courage Really Means, and Why It’s Rooted in Integrity, Not Fearlessness

We all love stories of courage. Across cultures, we have been captivated by heroes and villains since the beginning of time. Even now, amid headlines and clickbait about conflicts worldwide, we still see acts of courage being broadcast, offering glimmers of hope. As we navigate turbulent and politically charged times, courage seems more critical than ever.

Many think courage is about bold action, fearless leadership, or dramatic stands against adversity. Yet, in both coaching and leadership, ethics-based courage often takes quieter, less visible forms. In the coaching profession, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics reminds us that being ethical often requires courageous decisions, especially when upholding the principle of “doing good” versus “avoiding bad”.

To understand what courage truly demands of us, especially in the context of doing good, we need to look at both how it has been misunderstood and how it continues to evolve.

What is Courage?

As we’ve seen, the word courage itself often evokes strong feelings, yet until 2007, surprisingly little research had been done to define what courage really is.

Through the work of Rate, Clarke, Lindsay, and Sternberg in their study Implicit Theories of Courage, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, we gain one of the first research-based understandings of courage. They describe it as a deliberate, thoughtful action taken despite real risk, motivated by a desire to achieve a noble or worthy goal.

While this research captures the essence of courage, many misconceptions remain. Let’s look at some of the most common misunderstandings about what courage is—and what it is not.

Common Misconceptions About Courage

Despite how often courage is celebrated, some beliefs about it are misleading:

• Courage is something you either have or you don’t: Courage is not a trait we possess. We demonstrate it through our intentional behaviours, and we often only recognize it in hindsight.
• Courage feels like confidence: People expect courage to feel strong and certain. In reality, it often comes with fear, nervousness, and doubt. What if real courage sounds like doubt?
• You need to fully understand the situation before acting: Courage often means moving forward in the midst of uncertainty, rather than waiting until all the answers are clear.
• Courage requires dramatic or heroic action: Small, quiet everyday acts can be just as courageous (and have more overall impact) as grand gestures.
• There is only one way to be courageous: Courage can take many forms, depending on the person and the situation.

Many thinkers have explored the meaning of courage over time, but few have shaped Western thinking as profoundly as Aristotle. His work laid early foundations for how we understand virtue, ethics, and courageous action. His perspective on true and false courage continues to influence how we think about integrity and values-based leadership today. Let’s begin by looking at how he defined false courage before we circle back to genuine courage.

The 5 Types of False Courage

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explored what it means to live well and saw virtue as a quality of character that helps a person make wise choices and live in alignment with their purpose. Virtues are not fixed traits but habits developed through deliberate action. He argued that courage was the first virtue because it made all other virtues possible. Without the willingness to face fear or risk, qualities like honesty, integrity, and justice cannot be fully expressed.

He also distinguished between true courage and five forms of “false courage.” As you consider each one, what do you notice about how they might still apply today?

1. Political Courage 

This type may look most like true courage at first glance. It shows up when someone stands steadfast in the face of danger for a political cause. However, when these brave acts are performed mainly out of compulsion, such as political or social pressure, or fear of punishment or shame, they may not reflect true courage in Aristotle’s sense. If bold actions are not chosen freely or are not aligned with a person’s own moral code, they lack the integrity that gives courage its ethical weight.

2. Courage of Experience 

Some may appear brave because their experience or skill allows them to assess risks more clearly than others. Familiarity can create confidence, but that confidence may stem from competence, not courageous intention. When faced with overwhelming danger or unfamiliar threats, confidence may falter. Aristotle noted that those who rely on experience alone often become more fearful than others when their usual footing disappears. Perhaps this is because they haven’t built the courage muscle needed to face uncertainty.

3. Courage Driven By Passion

Some people act bravely out of passions like anger or greed. While they may willingly face danger, their actions are guided by emotion rather than deliberate choice or a noble purpose. As Aristotle explained, “Anger is a painful state, the act of revenge is pleasant; but those who fight from these motives [i.e. to avoid pain or gain pleasure] may fight well, but are not courageous: for they do not act because it is noble to act so, or as reason bids, but are driven by their passions.”

4. Courage Based on False Confidence 

Some appear courageous because they are overly confident or optimistic. They may believe they are not in real danger, but this confidence often disappears when things do not go as expected. Like those who base their courage on past experience, Aristotle declares that the individual with this form of false courage is “confident because he thinks he is superior and will win without receiving a scratch.” He also observed that drunkenness can create a similar false confidence, a phenomenon we now often refer to as “liquid courage.”

5. Courage Born of Ignorance

This type of courage is shown by those who charge ahead simply because they fail to recognize danger for what it truly is. Those unaware of the risks they face can appear brave, but their confidence is based on a lack of understanding rather than genuine courage. They may seem optimistic, but that confidence tends to vanish once the real risks become clear, possibly because they lack the self-reliance that more deliberately optimistic people might possess.

While Aristotle described these forms of false courage thousands of years ago, they still speak to how we misunderstand courage today. As you read through them, did any examples come to mind where something was seen as courageous, but may not have been?

The Cost of Misunderstanding Courage

One of the dangers of misinterpreting what courage is is that we may not recognize our own courageous acts because we believe courage must look bold, fearless, or dramatic. Or we may doubt our ability to act courageously when it is called for, especially if we assume that fear or uncertainty disqualifies us.

A false understanding of courage may make it harder to see the small, quiet, and intentional forms of courage that are expressed in everyday choices. This is just as true for clients or team members, who may undervalue their own courageous choices when they do not feel bold or fearless. By understanding these misconceptions, we can become more aware of when we, and others, are truly acting with courage, even when it does not feel heroic or aligned with traditional expectations. This shift in perspective begins with self-awareness.

Invitation to reflect: Where in your work or life might courage already be present in ways you have not fully recognized? How might acknowledging these quieter acts of courage strengthen both your own growth and how you support others?

What Makes Courage a Virtue?

There is one thing all five types of false courage have in common. Did you spot it? In each case, the actions may look brave on the surface, but they come from a different intent than how they are perceived. So, how do we know what genuine courage looks like? To answer that, we need to turn to the deeper question of what makes courage a virtue, not just an action.

While Aristotle’s view of courage emphasized moral strength in the face of fear and risk, modern understandings have expanded to include vulnerability, empathy, and emotional honesty. This broader view supports what we might now call heart-forward courage, the ability to stand up for and embody ethical behaviour with strength and compassion, even under pressure to do otherwise.

Before we explore how courage connects with the heart, it may be helpful to pause and reflect on how this has shown up in your own experience. When have you acted despite fear, from a deeper purpose? How was that connected with your heart and core values?

Heart-forward Courage

I love how Brené Brown talks about courage. She says, “Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor, the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”

Today, we use the word heart to describe both the physical organ and the emotional core of a person. This connection is not new. In Latin, cor referred to the physical heart, and the related noun coraticum referred to the emotional or metaphorical heart. Coraticum later evolved into the Old French word corage, meaning “innermost feelings.” Over time, corage became the modern English courage. Though the meaning has narrowed, its original sense reminds us that courage has long been linked to emotional truth and personal values.

As early definitions of courage suggest, speaking one’s innermost feelings is not simply about self-expression. It is an ethical act. It means choosing to share truthfully even when doing so may be unpopular, uncomfortable, or risky. It means standing by one’s values and conscience even when those choices might affect income or social standing. It means continuing to show up every day, doing what we can for the greater good, even when others appear more skilled or more bold.

Quiet Courage

What if the most courageous thing we can do is stay open and listen, even when what we hear goes against everything we believe? Courage is not always about speaking up or taking action. Sometimes it means staying in the conversation when every part of you wants to walk away. As coaches, we are taught to listen deeply, but that skill comes with a responsibility that doesn’t begin and end in the coaching space.

As the ICF Code of Ethics reminds us, courage is often needed to uphold integrity and humanity, especially when choosing to engage when moral values are at stake, rather than withdrawing from a situation to avoid complicity. For ICF credentialed coaches, ethical courage must extend beyond coaching. It may be required in leadership, community interactions, and personal decisions where ethical values are tested. It means acting with integrity and accountability, staying mindful of the broader impact of our choices. This calls on coaches, leaders, and others who care about the systems they are part of to embrace the philosophy of doing good rather than merely avoiding harm, even when the consequences seem daunting or uncertain.

This conversation on courage and ethics continues. During ICF International Coaching Week, Coacharya will host Courage Embodied: A Heart-Forward Way of Being, where we will consider what it means to practice heart-forward courage. We will explore how listening can be an act of courage, and how to stay aligned with ethical intentions and values-based engagement in both our professional and personal lives. We will also reflect on what it means to choose doing good over simply avoiding harm, and how that choice shapes our integrity, authenticity, and humanity. While especially relevant for coaches, this conversation will resonate with anyone seeking to lead with courage, support their communities, or navigate complex decisions in today’s world.

Cultivate Heart-Forward Courage in Your Coaching Practice

This exploration into the true meaning of courage – rooted in integrity and ethical action – is foundational to impactful coaching. At Coacharya, our ICF-accredited coach training programs emphasize these very principles, empowering you to guide clients with both skill and unwavering ethical grounding. If you’re inspired to deepen your understanding and embody heart-forward courage in your coaching journey, we invite you to learn more about our comprehensive programs.

As a special opportunity, Tracy, the author of this insightful piece, will be leading an upcoming ICF Level 1 coach training program. This is a unique chance to learn directly from her expertise and cultivate the courageous and ethical coaching presence the world needs. Head to our website and enrol now!

Don’t miss a rare opportunity to delve deeper into embodying heart-forward courage – register now for our upcoming ICW webinar, as limited seats are filling fast and time is running out to secure your spot!

(Credit to Tracy Brown for her insightful piece, ‘What Courage Really Means, and Why It’s Rooted in Integrity, Not Fearlessness,’ originally shared on LinkedIn.)