Executive summary of the book, Lead from the Middle. How to power past the limitations of top-down culture-shaping, innovation and transformation strategies. How to equip middle managers to step in, reach out, take charge and lift up fearful, reluctant or siloed partners.

1. © 2013 • Dr Merom Klein & Dr Louise Yochee Klein • www.courageinstitute.org • Tel (USA): +1-215-529-8918 Page 1
Executive summary
Available for puchase @ amazon.com
Brilliance. Initiative. Foresight.
WhenanIBMsurveyasked1500CEOswhattheyneedtoprosper
in tough times, these were the qualities they put at the top of
their lists. To see around the next corner. Invent breakthrough
game-changing solutions. Overcome adversity. Thrive in
uncertainty. Most CEOs said such brilliance is“in short supply.”
We agree. But not because of a lack of raw talent. In most
companies who engage us, the capacity for brilliance is there.
Soistheconnectivity. Matrixstructures,cross-functionalteams,
townhallmeetingsvirtuallinksbringtherightpeopletogether
at the right time to wrestle down and resolve the right issues.
Even when C-level executives hard-wire brilliance into the
enterprises, from the top down, the potential for brilliance lies
dormant unless leaders flip the switch and convert know-how
into insight and then into mobilization and action.
Courage flips the switch. To lead from the middle.
We’ve all been there. When an influential board member
dismisses a hot idea. When charge-forward personalities
discredit holdouts and their risk assessments. When someone
asks for input and teammates sit in stunned silence watching
the political winds. When new technology, new systems and
new structures make it harder, not easier to get all the special
interests aligned. When you face these adversities, what
happens to brilliance?
5 Courage Activators give leaders a roadmap to transcend
fearandcomplacency. Withtoolstobuildcourage,theyshape
the culture — one conversation, videoconference, product
team or business unit at a time — rather than allowing
themselves to be victims of the culture they inherit. They get
teams jazzed to ignite brilliance, not leave it dormant.
Dr Merom Klein and Dr Louise Yochee Klein lead Courage International, a global leadership
consultancy that builds courage from the middle-out so leaders in matrix organizations
and cross-functional innovation teams flip the switch and ignite brilliance. With their
associates, they are known for workshops and coaching that replace fear with initiative and
reluctance with positive momentum. For diversity dialogues that bridge cultural, personality,
generational, gender, cross-functional and other differences. And for business acumen that
harnesses the power of courage-building to lift performance. Merom and Louise Yochee are
business psychologists with 25+ years of experience equipping large corporations, agencies
and entrepreneurial teams to accelerate innovation and lead transformational change.

2. © 2013 • Dr Merom Klein and Dr Louise (Yochee) Klein • www.courageinstitute.org • Tel (USA): +1-215-529-8918 Page 2
The standout’s dilemma. You are recruited
foryourbrilliance. Youletitshine. Thegroup
tells you to fit in, get along and hammers
down the nail that sticks out. It’s a Catch-22
that tests your courage, especially if you are
someone who sees things differently.
A case in point.
A global pharmaceutical company named Yael to be new
Medical Director for a key therapeutic area and assigned her
to a product launch team. Within weeks,Yael saw flaws in the
launch strategy. “If this drug is not administered properly to
patients with a certain risk profile, it will not work and may
actually make them sicker,” Yael told the Product Manager.
“If I can see this,” she warned, “so will other careful and
conservative physicians – and so will the health plans that
we need to convince to put the drug on formulary. We need
a plan that physicians can use to manage these patients.
Without it, the launch is flawed.”
The Product Manager brought Yael’s recommendations to
the team. She was ridiculed. “We’ve already dealt with this
issue,” a Commercial VP said indignantly, “There is no reason
to re-cover old ground, second-guess our key opinion
leaders and regulatory advisors, and complicate our launch
just to appease a new MD who is grandstanding.”The finance
people were put off by the new MD’s recommendations,
warning that Yael’s proposal could scale back their sales
projections and have a negative impact on the net present
value of the asset and on the company’s stock price.
Yael was a luminary who knew her stuff. But this inflection
pointtestedhercourage— totrustherownjudgment,rather
thanyieldingtoagroupconsensussomepowerfulAdvisorsin
her matrix did not want challenged. It took courage to reach
out and build bridges with Sponsors in other parts of the
matrix, since her boss was wary of reaching beyond the silo
and forging outside partnerships It took courage for Yael to
oversee the work of Executors who did not report to her and
push for brilliant and correct, rather than easy, conventional
or popular recommendations. And do all of this at a time
when she was still getting acclimated to the new company
and did not yet have the track record or idiosyncrasy credits
to stand out and take a bold or contrarian position.
Middle-out, not top-down
Imagine this. Your CEO strides to the podium to announce a
bold new direction and unveils a new organization structure
to make it happen. He’s articulate and, to those who already
“get it,” like you, he’s inspiring. But most of the crowd is
threatened or bewildered. They felt safe and secure in their
boxes and silos. The CEO has rocked their world and raised
the bar — to a level that seems out of reach, if you don’t ignite
brilliance. You’re jazzed. Others aren’t. What do you do?
If you are stuck in a hiearchy trap, you look upward and
critique the big boss for his delivery — or for the many
situations when his C-level entourage has not walked his
talk. You complain about the culture you’ve seen in meeting
after meeting, when many of your colleagues, including
your own boss perhaps, settle into a norm of playing it safe,
getting permission, waiting for directions, not overstepping
their authority, being conflict-averse and overly nice. You feel
powerless and afraid, daunted and stifled, especially if you
are not the “in-group” nationality, gender, age or profession.
“Wrestle down key issues, own my power, raise the bar
higher?”you ask. I’ll believe it when I see it.
But suppose you see yourself as an orchestrator — in the
centre of the chart — bringing an array of Sponsors, Advisors,
Executors and End-Users into your influence sphere? What’s
your role from the middle of this sphere, if you are the one
who“gets it”first and who sees the potential of the CEO’s bold
vision? Do you allow yourself to be a victim of a culture that
lowers aspirations? Or do you step in, reach out and speak
up to be the culture that you wish to see — and mobilize
support, well aware that it may be lagging when you start?
Matrix structures are supposed to give luminaries like Yael a
boundaryless network and an open platform to reach out,
step up, speak up and stand out. But, without courage, it is
tempting to surrender to fear and hide in the matrix with our
heads below the parapets, feeling like the victims of hierarchy
traps and the bias against creativity. In frustration, it is
tempting to hit the throttle and power forward, unaware of
the voices that are stifled and the brilliance that is squenched
— or the support that doesn’t materialize when threatened
late adopters are turned off. Or to blame the culture for
being“dysfunctional”because you, like Yael, did not mobilize
a virtual or matrix team in a way that shaped the sub-culture.
Start where others are. Ennoble and lift them higher.
As Business Development Director, Tal was orchestrating a
complex deal, in-licensing a clean energy innovation that
was co-owned by a venture group, a nervous inventor/
entrepreneur and an academic institution. Tal followed his
CEO’sexplicitstep-by-stepdirectives. ButtheCEOwaswrong.
When the deal nearly came apart, the firm’s outside advisor
called the CEO. “Why did Tal make such a huge mistake?”the
advisor asked the CEO. “I explained why the tactics he used
would never work and told him what to do instead.” The CEO
admitted to the advisor, “That tactic was my idea. I’m sorry. I
didn’t know it was so wrong.”
The CEO confronted Tal. She asked,“Who’s running this deal?
You or me?”Tal stared at the CEO with empty goat-eyes. The
CEO repeated her question, and demanded to know why
Val did not take charge and use the best ideas, rather than
saying, “Yes ma’am,” and following his instincts. Tal tried to

3. © 2013 • Dr Merom Klein & Dr Louise Yochee Klein • www.courageinstitute.org • Tel (USA): +1-215-529-8918 Page 3
defend himself, saying that that the CEO diid not give the
authority to take those decisions. The CEO shook her head.
“Sure, I have strong instincts and opinions. But that doesn’t
mean I’m infallible. It’s your job to take charge and get this
deal done — not to curry favor and put us on a track to send
this deal to a competitor.”
In a classic hierarchy, we expect those in the C-suite and
Board Room to be at the highest levels of can-do, generative
possibility thinking — no matter how tough things get —
and to create a safety net for others. After all, aren’t they paid
the big bucks to pilot the plane and deal with the turbulence,
while other members of the crew serve meals, banter with
the passengers and wait to hear when it is safe to stand up
and move about the cabin? When Tal’s CEO showed fear,
because the deal looked like it could go to a competitor,
she clearly was at Level 0 (Denial that her pressure tactics
and hard-charging presence was part of the problem). At
best, her instincts took her to Level 1 (Fight and blame - with
ridicule, sarcasm, empty threats and a dozen other defensive
reactions directed at Tal).
When Tal was equipped to diagnose the situation — and
own his role as “the leader in the middle who had to lift
his CEO from Level 1 (Fight and Blame) and ennoble her to
play a more generative and brilliant role in putting this deal
together — he could switch his perspective from “victim of
the C-suite and the fear and defensiveness. Only when he
owned his responsibility — to step in, reach out and lift up —
could he see how to use his power to shape a high-courage
sub-culture, in the virtual team he orchestrated.
We don’t pretend this is easy or automatic.
In flat matrix hyper-connected structures,
leaders in the middle face dozens of
conflict-prone realities in conflict-averse or
hierarchy-trapped systems. No wonder they
freeze and worry what could get them into
trouble — before they flip the switch and
ignite brilliance.
What does it take to build a high-courage culture?
Our research tells us that a large complex corporation is a
mosaic of 10,000 or more distinct sub-cultures. We may all
have the same Core Values, Destination Statement or Credo
on the wall. But stay in the same conference room and hand
the reins to Tal, Yael or 1000 other orchestrators and you
can watch the dynamics change as each meeting ends and
another begins.
The CEO can stride to the podium and announce her
aspirations for the culture. And the C-team may embrace
and model the 5 Courage Activators. But unless Yael, Tal and
other levels are equipped to be at Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5
at the moments of truth when it takes lift to get over a hurdle,
the gap between cultural aspirations and“how we do things”
will fail to ignite brilliance.
To ignite brilliance from the middle out, leaders need to:
1. Diagnose courage. A classic organization development
(OD) adage says, “Start where your followers are.” To do this,
leaders have to know how to read the actions and reactions
of their Sponsors, Advisors, Executors, End-Users — and of
Orchestrators piloting sister ships in the same armada — to
diagnose their level of Will, Purpose, Candor, Risk and Rigor.
They need to know when a member of their team is at Level
0 or Level 1 — whether that is the CEO or the lab technician
packing and sending samples — and when they can count on
someone to carry the torch at Level 5 rather than participate
in productive deliberations at Level 4.
Leaders need to assess needs, not flaws. So they understand
how to respond to CEOs like Tal’s by ennobling and uplifting,
not demonizing and marginalizing. They need to ask,“What’s
going to help?” not, “What’s dysfunctional or hypocritical?:”
And they refine their diagnosis with a deep understanding
of diverse cultures, age groups, genders, personality types,
professional disciplines and other factors that make each of
us unique in the way we respond to fear and adversity.
2. Ennoble courage. There’s another OD adage that says,“Be
part of the solution, not part of the problem.” Research from
Weizman Institute shows that our brains are hard-wired to
look fear in the face and draw closer, to be adaptive, engaged
and generative. But activating the courage centres in our
brains is not automatic. We have to flip the switch — with
uplifting and ennobling, not laissez-faire, leadership.
The 5 Courage Activators give leaders like Tal and Yael a
roadmap when they sit down with fearful or reluctant
teammates — or call them to action in a video-conference,
an email exchange or a quick live huddle. The roadmap:
• Starts with PURPOSE and sets the compass true North.
So reluctant partners “get” what you are trying to achieve
when you ask penetrating questions or offer out-of-the-
box ideas. Buy into the big picture, the common cause, the
penultimate objectives. And step up from avoidance.
• Opens CANDOR going deep to the core. To smoke out
concerns, fears, anxieties and reluctance. Show reluctant
partners that you “get it” and understand why they are
nervous. Allay fears that you can allay. And step up from
blame.
• Strengthens WILL with energy of the East. To generate
a “can-do” spirit. Ignite a sense of urgency. Engage
diverse personalities, cultures, professional backgrounds.

4. © 2013 • Dr Merom Klein & Dr Louise Yochee Klein • www.courageinstitute.org • Tel (USA): +1-215-529-8918 Page 4
Generate pride, joy, accomplishment. Assure reluctant
partners that you will hang in there with them. Own
accountability.
• Facilitates RIGOR with Western discipline. To wrestle
down the key issues. Formulate solutions. Pressure-test.
Find breakthroughs. Co-ordinate. Rehearse for masterful
execution so the right partners come in on cue. And step
up to learning and improvisation.
• EnnoblesRISKwithabundanceoftheSouth.Toempower,
trust, and equip partners to fly solo. By following someone
else’s leadership rather than directing yourself. By sharing
resources rather than grabbing more for your group. By
letting others struggle and learn from their mistakes. And
showing that you believe in their potential.
3. Orchestrate courage. Another OD adage tells us, “Never
swim alone.” It’s as true in a lake as it is when the initiative
you orchestrate dives into ideas, product upgrades and new
business models.
Brilliance is not a solo effort, especially when breakthrough
solutions have a system-wide impact. Big opportunities
have lots of many moving parts and diverse stakeholders to
mobilize. Your effort to bring a newly acquired venture into
alignment with the corporation’s “way of doing things” may
be the final wave that swamps the boat, if you are unaware of
sister departments with parallel change initiatives. We work
in cross-functional teams and matrix structures not because
it is easy or clear, but because it is the best way to get the
right luminaries working together on the right issues at the
right time — working parallel rather than in sequence.
“Courage is a special wisdom,” a national
leader said, “Knowing how to fear what
ought to be feared and how not to fear what
ought not be feared.” A special wisdom is
something that can be taught and learned
— practiced, bolstered and strengthened.
4. Make waves. True brilliance is impossible without tension
— between the status quo and some envisioned future
state and amongst disciplines that see opportunities and
problems from multiple perspectives. If you are a luminary
stretching a groups imagination, don’t be surprised when
you encounter luddites who are threatened by your brilliance
and want to discredit or derail your efforts, lest they find
their current routines or livelihoods transformed. And you
will encounter lingerers who are slow to get onboard —
because they do not “get it” or do not see how to do it. It is
tempting to exclude stakeholders who ask tough questions,
who set the bar high or who refuse to compromise on ethical
imperatives because they can disrupt harmony and block
quick consensus. But doing so may cost you the perspective
that makes real breakthroughs possible.
In traditional hierarchies and chains of command, we are
taught to look upward and rely on those in charge to link
their efforts with those other departments, functions, silos
or co-workers. Matrix structures require a different form of
citizenship. And a different language to define who takes
charge and who takes orders; who offers ideas and who
sharpens them up; who shapes decisions and who executes;
who holds whom accountable. Spanning boundaries —
between levels, regions, business units, functions — is
essential, when we do not have the resources to hoard or
hold in reserve rather than share and when we do not have
time to wait for problems to work their way up and answers
to work their way down a chain of command.
How training, coaching and workshops can help.
In workshops, coaching and team mobilization initiatives, we
equip leaders to decode and navigate their matrix structures
— and leave them with a roadmap to mobilize a network
and imbue the members of that network with the courage
to smile in the face of fear, overcome reluctance, strengthen
partnerships and act. That’s the “now what”— where action
learning comes back to the workplace and delivers a ROI. The
research on culture-building and leadership development is
clear. 60% of the difference is here — after the workshop and
between coaching consultations — when leaders like Yael
and Tal take what they have learned and put it to work.
The “what” is the dramatization that gets the attention of
your leaders and illustrates how they create their own luck
and shape their team and organization dynamics. In our
workshops, we use hands-on simulations and vivid cases to
create moments of truth and dilemmas like the ones that real
leaders like Yael and Tal face in their enterprises — as they
step in, reach out, speak up and take charge from the middle.
It is where the fun, the joy of discovery, the laughter, the
cameraderie happens.
The “so what” is the reflective part of the journey. It’s where
fun and activity transition into deep dialogue and personal
journaling. And where rehearsal — for a pivotal presentation
or a 1:1 ennobling uplifting dialogue — goes from scripting
to fluency. It’s where a leader takes his or her 360-feedback
and transforms it into an Individual Development Plan —
and where s/he takes the results of a Courage Assessment or
Engagement Survey and creates a Team Mobilization Plan.
Now what?
If we’re provoked your thinking about brilliance, culture-
shaping,aboutmovingfromablamingorvictim’sperspective
to take charge and be the Core Values you want to see — we
now invite you to assess yourself (on our website), to read the
book or call us and start a dialogue.