With bet the company stakes like BP’s recent allegations against Halliburton and trade groups suing US regulators, leadership is not just fodder for Bloomberg headlines. As the issues grow more and more complex, the pressure on leaders mounts and anxiety seems to spread exponentially.

In their new book, Courageous Counsel, Kara Baysinger and Michele Mayes say corporate leaders who overcome anxiety and complexity have one thing in common: they demonstrate courage. And they assert women have more of it. Biologically predisposed to moderate risk and build relationships, women may be showing up in more and more leadership positions around the world because of it.  Just a handful of global companies no longer have female directors according to data from GovernanceMetrics International and Spencer Stuart.  Of all S&P companies, only 10% have no women on their boards, down from 14% in 2000.  And study after study shows the financial and social advantages to including women in leadership.

Whether you think gender-based advantages make a leader great or not, one thing is clear: new times demand new leadership approaches and certainly courage is among them.  For many, including leadership expert Rosabeth Moss Kanter, courage means caring deeply about a shared goal.  Often the difference success and failure is simply the difference between planning and executing strategy.  And what keeps many leaders from competently executing strategy is a lack of concern for mutual interests.  Caring takes courage.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Courage in the C-Suite, Kanter writes that future admirable leaders have a mandate, “No problem left to fester.  No idea left behind.”  In these challenging times, it seems a true call for courageous leaders.