I was in sixth grade. This was the first year of school that we changed classes to learn different subjects and we had 6 different teachers (one for each subject). My second period class was English and it was taught by an older woman that inspired fear in all of her students (including me). Luckily, we knew that she could only give us the dreaded homework assignments on the designated “English homework” nights.

One day she assigned us homework on the wrong night! No one said anything to her at the time. Who would have dared? Later that day when we were with our favorite teacher during sixth period, everyone began complaining about the English homework that we had been given. “It’s not right!” we declared together like a choir that was trained to sing in harmony.

Then, much to our surprise and consternation, our favorite teacher said, “I’m just going to get Ms. English and bring her right over.” The class became silent as we waited. A proverbial pin might have dropped and we would have all heard it at that moment.

When Ms. English came in, she glared at us all with her hands on her hips and asked “who said that I assigned homework on the wrong night?”

Not a word was spoken. I vividly remember the intensity of the moment since I had been singing in the choir of complainers. Yet, despite the fearful presence of Ms. English, something clicked for me and I knew that it was right to respond to her question. So, with no little concern for what might happen, I alone raised my hand.

Both teachers immediately told me to come outside the class into the hallway. It was pretty clear that life as I knew it was likely to be over soon. I assumed that something bad would happen to me and that it would probably hurt a lot.

When I was outside, the worst outcome that I feared did not happen. My favorite teacher pointed at me and said to Ms. English “that boy stands tall.” Trembling I stood there when Ms. English simply agreed. After that incident, Ms. English never treated me the same again. I always felt a real sense of respect from her. And to think that all it took was some courage to tell the truth.

Competitive intelligence roles will require courage from you for five simple reasons.

1. You will possess insights that will challenge the positions of important people in your company.
2. Your recommendations and observations will suggest or imply the need for changes in the current strategies.
3. Your interpretations will inspire intense debates from strong willed people.
4. Sometimes you will be wrong and others may use the memory of your mistakes against you.
5. You will see some things sooner and clearer than those that have responsibility for the associated strategy.

Now, what is important is not the threats or fears but rather how you respond. There will be sore temptations to not tell the truth or to tell only part of the truth. There is no doubt that sometimes discretion is indeed called for in particular settings. Nevertheless, there will also be times when the decision will be squarely in front of you to declare under some pressure what your believe to be truth.

You may fear the consequences of telling the truth but also understand that leaders are desperately searching for those people that can move despite fear. This is called courage and it is an attribute that most people respect and value highly.

The leadership lesson from my sixth grade experience was the importance of courage and truth. And daring in those two areas would be a recurring challenge throughout my life. I can’t say that I have passed the test every time. But I can say that one time I did. Knowing that I did once means that I can do it again.

And so can you …