How Do You Rate?

In Indian mythology, Hanuman, the monkey god, is the provider of courage. It'd be nice to summon the gods to make tough calls at work. (It'd be nice just to have a monkey around.) Instead, we have to build courage. With the help of Dr. Merom Klein at Philadelphia's Courage Institute North America and his book The Courage to Act (Davies-Black, 2003), we developed this test to gauge your courage and help you improve. Turn the page to find out if you're as daring -- or as weak -- as you think you are.

Take the courage quiz

Candor >> The courage to speak and hear the truth

1] You discover a flaw in your product design just before launch. What do you do?

• Flaw? What flaw? Lie low, let somebody else discover it and take the heat from your boss.
• March into your boss's office and tell her.
• Blame your nemesis. That's why he's there.

2] Describe the overall tone during your team meetings.

• "Can't we all just get along?"
• Tough issues get raised constructively.
• Long, uncomfortable silences are perfect for doing email.

3] When someone disagrees with you, what do you do?

• Restate your argument, only more loudly.
• Let teammates engage you on the issues, and make sure everyone hears one another.
• Challenge him to a duel, picking the weapons out of the supply cabinet.

4] You ask Bob to go over the department reviews he's doing. As he's discussing Dan's team, Dan snickers. What do you do?

• Say "Thank you for sharing," and move on.
• Stop the meeting. Encourage Dan to consider Bob's message and let it sink in.
• Add your guffaws to Dan's snickers. Then start with the eye rolling.

Purpose >> The courage to pursue lofty goals

5] Your biotech firm has set a goal to enter into clinical trials by the end of the year on a drug that helps seniors live more comfortably. How do you get skeptics to buy in?

• "That's for others to worry about, not me."
• Communicate the vision of improving your parents' quality of life. If you succeed, employees, the company, and the community all benefit.
• Hold pizza parties every Friday!

6] Your sporting-goods chain needs to increase profits $1 million per store this year. How do you communicate that goal?

• "Make the numbers, or you'll be fired."
• "Put forth a little extra effort to win just one new customer a week, and we'll make it."
• Two words: creative accounting.

7] How do you or your team articulate your contribution to the team's goal?

• "What difference does it make what I do?"
• "I may just be the janitor, but why would buyers pick us if this place is a dump?"
• "How did you find me here in the basement? Please don't take my red stapler away."

8] How do your employees respond to having to do something boring or unpleasant in support of the larger goal?

• They quietly sabotage the project so they can do what they find interesting.
• "If we succeed, then I'll succeed, too."
• Resumes jam the printer each morning.

Will >> The courage to inspire

9] Which phrase best describes your attitude?

• "My glass is half empty."
• "My glass is half full."
• "Who moved my glass?"

10] Your team's energy is flagging. How do you revitalize it?

• Talk to employees painstakingly about why they're despairing.
• Talk to employees and focus on their aspirations and hopes.
• Requisition cauldrons to burn the witches.

11] When the team is feeling the pressure, what do you do?

• Tell the inspiring story about when you finished a similar project solo, during a blackout.
• Tell a joke -- anything to take the edge off.
• Stand over them screaming, "No mistakes!"

12] How do you convey to your team that they should be excited by challenges?

• Push forward with a grim, unbreakable spirit, only working harder when adversity strikes.
• Show confidence in them while still reinforcing that failure isn't an option.
• Have you tried pizza parties every Friday?