Leadership: The Real Problem With Fear

We know that fear is bad.

On the surface, it prevents people from realizing their full potential. Beneath that, there's a darker problem.

Fear attracts or causes the exact thing that the person fears.

For example, someone who is afraid of failure will avoid taking the risks that are a necessary part of achieving success. That leads to failure. In more extreme cases, the person will avoid doing anything, which guarantees failure.

This matters because you probably have people like this in your organization. (I'll add, everyone has some amount of fear in them. The difference between high performers and low performers is that successful people manage their fears more effectively.)

You may have already tried helping the low performers with enticements (e.g., "You could earn more if you did the work") or threats (e.g., "You'll be fired if you don't do the work").

Another approach is to apply a process of orchestrated successes.

That is, give the person tasks that are relatively easy to complete. Then encourage further effort by finding something commendable about the person's effort. As the person achieves successes, increase the difficulty of the tasks.

I realize that in some cases, finding praise may require creativity. For example, about 25 years ago I had to evaluate a speech that someone refused to give. So, I commended the person for showing up and offered encouragement to give the speech at the next meeting. (Good news: He came back and delivered a speech at the next meeting.)

This can also matter if you find fear keeping yourself from things that need to be done.

In that case, the solution is simply: 1) Find the fear, 2) Recognize that every fear is a nightmare that people give themselves, and 3) Throw it out.

Some people will take care of this last step by writing the fear on a piece of paper, which they destroy. Some even hold a special ceremony to commemorate the end of a bad dream. Others seek out the help of a coach or counselor.
 

Key Point: Life is too important to be wasted on fear.

Much success,

Steve Kaye

714-528-1300

Author, Speaker, IAF Certified Professional Facilitator

Web Site

Linkedin