When jobs change at the stroke of a pen and compromising is often easier than taking the high road, courage is the key individual and organizational competency that defines the high performers. With team-based structures and cross-functional mandates creating ambiguity and conflict, and when it's safer to pass the buck than to accept accountability, organizations rise and fall based on the courage they inspire from the top down, the bottom up, and the middle out. Pragmatic and practical, THE COURAGE TO ACT puts the art of acting with courage within reach of anyone who wants to achieve extraordinary results at work. From fieldwork that has spanned four continents and dozens of countries--from Fortune 100 corporations to the Israeli military--comes a simple, elegant, and powerful five-factor model of acting with courage when faced with everyday moments of truth, and individual strength and character are put to the test. With thought-provoking case studies, the authors' unique Courage Index questionnaire, and other hands-on tools, THE COURAGE TO ACT offers a simple yet dynamic approach for assessing, fostering, teaching, and learning courage. In an engaging, live, and real way, the authors detail the five factors needed to face adversity, deal with ambiguity, seize opportunities before they get away, and work through rather than avoid conflicts: candor, purpose, will, rigor, and risk.