The Courage Way

2

The Inner Work of Leadership

The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human modesty, and in human responsibility.

—Václav Havel

Ever since he was a little kid, Patrick Herson thought he would become a doctor. His father often told stories of the small-town general practitioners who delivered Patrick and his sisters. “I do have a sense of calling,” Patrick told me, “but it was more about hero worship of the docs who took care of us. Becoming a doctor felt like something natural to do.” He happily practiced medicine for years, delivering more than five hundred babies himself. He also took on added leadership roles. As time went on, he became frustrated trying to do both—and ...