Courage Becoming – Wendy-Ann Smith

Couragaous Becoming

~ Development of ethicality in real-time relational complexity ~

Courageous Becoming

A Courageous Becoming offers a developmental pathway, emerging through seven movements, for those navigating complexity in real time.
It is an invitation to reawaken what is already within—our deeper knowing and capacity for courage—and strengthens our ability to stay present, to choose, and to act.

Each movement introduces a way of intentionally engaging with self, others, and the systems we inhabit—offering a layered, psychologically dynamic scaffolding that nourishes the self, cultivates discernment, and brings courage to life in practice.

Courageous Becoming

The Courageous Becoming model draws together multiple strands of psychological theory and ethical inquiry to offer a dynamic, developmental approach to ethical practice.

This framework draws together key psychological and philosophical strands:

~Self-Determination Theory – exploring agency, autonomy, and purposeful motivation

~ Snyder’s Hope Theory – supporting clarity of direction, pathways thinking, and sustained action

~ Relational Ethics – highlighting ethicality as contextual, co-constructed, and enacted in relationship

~ Moral Psychology – offering insight into values-based decision-making and ethical discernment

~ Strengths-Based Practice – resourcing from individual and collective capacities for growth

~ Coaching Psychology – emphasising reflection-in-action and the conditions for behavioural change

~ Developmental Theory – engaging complexity through movement and the ongoing expansion of capacity

Courageous Becoming offers a dynamic developmental pathway—inviting a spiral of lived inquiry that supports reflective leaders and practitioners to meet complexity with intentionality, discernment, and psychological flexibility. A growth model that honours both self and system, enhancing the capacity to make value-aligned decisions and hold presence in relational tension.

Eight Movements of Courage in Practice

The eight movements of Courageous Becoming are not steps or stages to be followed in sequence. They are dynamic entry points—each offering a lens through which to reflect, choose, and act with ethical presence.

Together, they form a living framework for navigating relational complexity in real time.

These reflective questions are not exhaustive. They are invitations—ways to pause, reorient, and deepen your engagement with what matters most. Whether used in coaching, leadership, or personal practice, they are meant to evoke awareness, intentionality, and courageous integrity in motion.

1. Context & Culture

~ How do I locate myself in the current context?
~ What historical, cultural, systemic forces are shaping what I perceive and what is possible?
~ What are the spoken and unspoken rules in play here?
~ Where might I be complicit, and where might I be called?

2. Intentional Agency

~ What matters most to me here—and why?
~ Am I acting from obligation or intentional choice?
~ Where do I locate responsibility in this moment?
~ How do I want to show up?

3. Lived Values

~ What values are at stake—for me, and for others?
~ How are my values currently lived, not just stated?
~ Am I willing to stand by them, even when it costs me?
~ Where are my values evolving?

4. Discernment.

~ What tensions are present, and what are they asking of me?
~ What competing goods am I weighing?
~ What assumptions might I need to challenge?
~ What choice is mine to make—and what might I be avoiding?

5. Networks of Strength

~ Who shows up for me—and how do I receive their support?
~ How have I drawn on my strengths in past moments of challenge?
~ What inner resources am I cultivating to meet the complexity I face now?
~ What relationships or communities help me stay grounded and clear?

6. Praxis in Motion

~ What outcome truly matters here—and why does it matter to me?
~ How might I move toward that outcome from where I am now?
~ How could I widen the path if obstacles arise?
~ Where do I feel most resourced or supported to begin?

7. Nourishment

~ What am I learning—about myself, others, and this work?
~ How have I grown through this experience?
~ What does it mean to acknowledge and integrate this growth?
~ What thoughts and feelings are emerging now that were not available before?

8. Embodied Presence

~ Who am I now?
~ What is alive in me now?
~ What carries me forward?

Adapted from forthcoming work by Wendy-Ann Smith (2025).

Courageous Becoming

Interested in working with the Courageous Becoming framework in your coaching, leadership, or development context?

I offer workshops, collaborative inquiry sessions, and tailored support for coaches, leaders, and learning professionals who wish to explore and apply this model in depth.

To explore how Courageous Becoming might support your practice or team, get in touch to discuss bespoke options.

Courageous Becoming | Let’s Work Together