6 Ways to Eliminate Fear From Leadership

We all make mistakes and we all fail at times. But how you respond to your mistakes and failures will go a long way towards determining your success as a leader.  Fear-based leadership leads to a debilitating environment where trust is diminished, creativity and innovation are stifled, and people are unwilling to speak up, take risks, or try new things. Ultimately, performance across the organization suffers.

Fear-filled leaders frequently withhold information in an effort to appear smarter or have more power than everyone else. The fearful leader also hoards control of resources and revenues, dispensing them sparingly to ensure no one will have an opportunity to outperform them.  Leaders who question their own abilities hide behind their title and a false sense of bureaucratic power.  These leaders have position authority, but no relationship power with their followers. The intimidated leader often withdraws and works alone, hoping that by flying under the radar no one will figure out their shortcomings.

Fear often produces comparison and competition with others, which ultimately divides and undermines teamwork. Consider your self-talk. Do you say to yourself, “I’m not as good as, smart as, accomplished as, or rich as others around me?” If any of these statements sound familiar, you may be leading out of fear and it’s time to revise your personal commentary.

Do any of the above situations resonate with you? If so, assess your fear of the common factors below. Face your fears head on and actively replace them with confidence so that you and everyone on your team can be a successful contributor to your organization’s success.

 Where do I find my security and sense of self-worth?  Is it in perfect performance, your position, or your possessions?   All of these things are transient, and placing your sense of worth in them is a sure formula for disaster and leadership failure. Great leaders find their sense of worth in their ability to continually learn (especially from mistakes), a dedication to their work, and the commitment to gather talented people around them and help them excel.

Do you fear failing or your team not achieving a task or goal? All successful leaders have experienced failure at some point. Wisdom is gained if we have the courage to learn from mistakes. Own the mistake and let your team know what you’re going to do about it, starting today.

• Define the goal and measureable outcomes
• Create an action plan and identify roles and responsibilities
• Provide resources
• Develop your people for success
• Remove barriers
• Build team work
• Communicate, communicate, communicate

Do you have a fear of change or ambiguity? Embrace change as an opportunity. It’s important to be an early adapter and help your team get on board with change.  Set a vision, and then identify reasons for resistance. Work together with your team members to create solutions, and help them focus on what they can do to help make that vision a reality. Keep the focus on what you will gain, not what you may have to give up with the change. Learn to love ambiguity!  There is no crystal ball; gather all the information you can and be willing to make a timely start knowing you may have to make adaptations along the way. If you wait until you have 100% of the information you need, you will miss the opportunity. That is failure to change.

Are you fearful of looking foolish or making a mistake? Don’t take yourself so seriously, and learn to laugh at yourself. Make your goal excellence, not perfection.  Develop the skills you need to be on top of your game and commit to not repeating the same mistake twice

Do you fear that you don’t know enough or as much as your employees? No one has all the answers, so learn to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”  Foster a team mindset that none of us are as smart as all of us. It takes a village to accomplish greatness, so create a culture where everyone contributes and no one is criticized for not having an answer.  Identify subject matter experts and go to them for input and suggestions. Have the confidence to develop the expertise of the people around you to a level higher than your own.  Your role is to lead, not to be the expert in every area.

Do you have a fear of feedback or being criticized?  Get out in front of feedback and become self- aware by requesting regular feedback. Ask “How am I doing?  What else can I do to be a more impactful leader for this team?”  Ask your manager to approve a 360-assessment of your leadership skills.  Most important, thank people for their feedback when they give it to you, and then ACT on that feedback.

Are you afraid of taking responsibility or making the wrong decision? Your organization’s success depends on your ability to make decisions, and so does your future as a leader.  Over-analysis or not making a decision at all can impede progress. Similarly, so can knee-jerk decisions that are not made with solid information. Gather input from different sources and discuss the pros and cons as a team.  Though you are ultimately responsible for the decision, collaborating with your team will increase the likelihood that you will make a solid decision, and it will give you confidence to move forward.  The ability to make good decisions can give you the tools you need to advance your business, as well as your leadership career.

Conquering the common fears of leadership and driving fear out of the workplace is essential to unleashing employee potential and business success.  What steps will you take today to build your confidence and avoid the leadership pitfall of fear?