Linda Yaccarino Infusing Others With Her Courage

Turner supported her in this effort (she’s also passionate, so I’m sure she made a great case for it), and her decision to move in this somewhat risky direction has paid off handsomely, in terms of both ad sales revenues and cementing relationships with important clients.  But she had no guarantee at the time; it required leadership courage to commit to this direction and stay committed to it until it could have a chance to bear fruit.”

       — From Chapter Five of Leading So People Will Follow

I suspect most of the people who work for Linda Yaccarino consider her fearless. But I know she has doubts and anxiety as anyone else does – it’s just that she doesn’t let them stop her.

And that’s part of real courage as a leader: moving forward in spite of your fear.  Doing things that feel risky, or are personally uncomfortable, when you believe they’re necessary for the good of the enterprise.

I love working with Linda – it’s always a breath of fresh air.  She’s bold, and she’s honest, and she takes full responsibility for her actions. In her new(ish) job as head of Cable and Digital Ad Sales at NBCUniversal, she immediately set a high bar for herself and her team when she arrived – there was a lot to do, and not nearly enough time or people to do it.  In the first meeting she held with her senior team, I could tell they were excited, but a little overwhelmed by the challenges before them. Then I had the privilege of being a part of her first national sales meeting, a few months later, and I could feel her courage infusing each one of the 400 people in attendance; making them feel more capable, more willing to move beyond their own limitations.

Courage in a leader is a bracing thing: it strengthens and invigorates everyone it touches.