Published on 20 March 2026 – Virgin blog – by Holly Branson.
We talk a lot about bravery in leadership. It’s a word that’s often used to describe bold decisions, big risks, and fearlessness. But true bravery, I’ve learned, is often a lot quieter, more considered, and far more human.
For my ‘How to be a brave leader’ series, I spoke with someone whose career has been defined by standing up to power. Justice Louise Arbour is a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and a Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who took the unprecedented step of indicting a sitting head of state for war crimes. If anyone understands bravery, it’s someone who has had to weigh the consequences of difficult decisions on a global stage. Here’s what Louise had to say.
Bravery starts with clarity, not impulse. This is one of my key takeaways from our conversation. Brave leadership isn’t about charging ahead blindly. It’s about being deliberate and understanding the risk, costs, and consequences to people everywhere (not just yourself, customers, and shareholders). When you take the time to critically assess what’s at stake, the decision you take becomes grounded, not reckless. You take action with your eyes open.
In a world where societal norms have been shattered and international law is under threat, it was fascinating to hear Louise’s thoughts. As she put it:
Laws have to be just, and they have to be justly enforced.
There’s little point passing and upholding a law if it isn’t based on the principles of universal human rights, dignity, and respect. For leaders, this matters because legality is not the same as morality. Doing the right thing sometimes means questioning whether the systems we rely on are fair in the first place.
That’s an important lesson for today: brave leadership is rarely a solo act. It depends on alliances, trust, and institutions that are prepared to do hard things in creative ways.
Here’s a few other takeaways from our interview:
- Brave leadership challenges faulty assumptions: Whether it’s drug policy, criminal justice, or social systems, laws are often built on premises that feel “normal” simply because they’ve been around for a long time. As Louise’s work with the Global Commission on Drug Policy highlights, brave leadership means being willing to step back and ask: If we were starting from scratch today, would we really design this the same way?
- Bravery requires creativity: brave leadership is rarely a solo act. It depends on alliances, trust, and institutions that are prepared to do the hard things.
- Never forget the human impact: there’s deep power in empathy. A brave leader never forgets the human beings being impacted by every policy and decision.
- When values collide, tread carefully: Business leaders constantly face tension between shareholders and stakeholders, between profit and planet, and between growth and responsibility. Leaders must be guided by firm values when conflicts of interest arise. If you stand for nothing, you can fall for anything.
In a world that feels increasingly polarised and reactive, Louise reminded me that brave leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about clarity, fairness, imagination, and compassion.
It’s finding the conviction to stand for what’s right, even when the pressure reaches boiling point.
That, to me, is what brave leadership requires today.
Extracted from the original article on Virgin.com