Leadership Systems

By David Lennard

Fear is at the heart of so many of the issues that plague most organizations.  It’s a trap that’s both real and imagined.  Many of us create our own web of fear that dictates our actions and many times hurts us.

Our current economy is a perfect example of how fear can control us, and makes rational companies and people behave irrationally.   Some people who have absolutely no change in their current income and job status are behaving like they are out of work.  Many companies that are doing well are also adopting behaviors and practices that would suggest they are about to go out of business.  Certainly it’s good to be prudent in tough times but don’t let fear put you in a downward spiral.

While fear invades almost all aspects of work, a good place to start to try to reduce fear would be right where you are.  In a perfect world it would be your boss’s responsibility to be the one working to reduce that fear but many times it just is not going to happen.  You need to take the first steps:

1.       Start with your own set of beliefs about your fears and challenge yourself about their reality.  Fight to be as honest with yourself as possible about how real these fears are.

2.       Ask others for help and feedback about the things that you fear.  Use their thoughts and advice to come up with next steps that you can take to reduce those fears.

3.       Plant small seeds to see if they will grow into things that can be discussed to reduce the anxiety in your work group. 

4.       Take small steps to reduce the fears and take it slow so your actions don’t create more uneasiness. 

5.       Figure out ways to take care of yourself to reduce exposure to the things you fear.  That might include recognizing that it’s time to leave and go somewhere else. 

In the end, it’s your relationship with your boss that has the greatest influence on your satisfaction with the job.  People who can work fearlessly are the ones that can lead the group or company forward in tough times.  Never forget that a little fear goes a long way and now is the time to do things that can drive that fear out for yourself and your coworkers.