There has never been a more difficult time to lead anything — whether a publicly traded corporation or a nonprofit nongovernmental organization; whether a global university or a local, public school or classroom.

Indeed, many of the best would-be leaders I know are asking, why would I even want to be a leader?

As I prepare to step down from the Ford Foundation, having served through the years on more than a dozen boards of directors across sectors and industries, I see a gathering crisis of leadership.

The consequences for our shared democratic values and institutions are clear and present. The cycle that causes America’s leadership crisis ought to be, as well.

Hardly a day passes without a fellow leader lamenting — in sidebar, or green room, or private-lunch conversations — the myriad ways in which our culture actively discourages the courage that is essential to effective leadership.

Leadership is an action, not a title. And many of our leaders are paralyzed by broken, perverse incentives that impair their abilities to fulfill institutional missions and mandates. Paradoxically, many leaders feel that any reduction in their visibility brings with it a promise of reward.

Increasingly, I worry that well-intentioned boards of directors are selecting rising leaders for safety, appointing executives who have assiduously avoided controversy rather than those most adept at managing it. Then, they counsel toward caution, not conscience.