10 Fears Holding Leaders Back To Change (And What To Do When They Show Up) [Infographic]
In these disruptive times, it’s not easy to be a leader.
Sure, your role is all about direction and change. So you face your fears. You declutter your mind and bravely set a direct of travel. You develop the skills to be a great leader in the digital age, even promote innovative thinking and embrace risk taking…
Then, you motivate others to follow you. After all, people want to be empowered to be themselves, to get rewards for their entrepreneurial spirit, and be part of the solution!
So you create a team ecosystem to inspire. You guide and mentor them to think differently — mindful that emotional intelligence is the best asset for a team — and you manage to balance head and gut throughout.
Hang on. Look at the above. How many of these actions could be marked as “straight from my comfort zone”?
Today, to be a leader is to embark on a trip where the destination may be uncomfortable; navigating unknown territories, dealing with people and their reactions, plus the usual worry of “what if it doesn’t work”?
When the status quo no longer exists (there’s no safe place to decamp to) and, still, you need to face your fears (because these are the rules of the game), how do you go about it?
In my opinion, you don’t have many options:
1. You let fear rule. Such overwhelmed leaders usually end up burying their head in the sand, becoming secretive and isolated. Slowly, criticism erodes their sense of self-worth and their grit fades away in the face of the unknown.
2. You don’t let fear cloud your decision-making. Even when afraid of change, you face your fears and work with it, not against it.
The presence of fear is something you will never eradicate; it’s hard coded into your brain. But you can definitely face your fears and learn to turn things around when they show up.
All it takes is a few mind-hacks, good habits, and discipline. What if the all the efforts you usually put into fighting fear could turn into fuel for your objectives?
Learn how to do it in this infographic — 10 Fears Holding Leaders Back To Change.
Resources
1. Fear of uncertainty — http://www.talentsmart.com/articles/11-Ways-Emotionally-Intelligent-People-Overcome-Uncertainty-1596789451-p-1.html
2. Fear of losing control — https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-would-aristotle-do/201105/the-fear-losing-control
3. Fear of the unknown — https://www.forbes.com/sites/augustturak/2014/02/21/fear-of-change-and-6-ways-to-overcome-it/#495b2a1c1e53
4. Fear of criticism — http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/fear-of-criticism-7-steps-to-beat-it-once-and-for-all
5. Fear of judgement — https://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-v-schroll-/5-ways-to-overcome-fear-of-judgment_b_10396254.html
6. Fear of conflict –https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2016/10/14/6-ways-to-conquer-the-fear-of-confrontation/#19da2c125897
7. Fear of failure — https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2014/10/30/how-to-move-beyond-the-fear-of-failure-5-proven-strategies/#1a7bd0091b78
8. Fear of success — https://brandongaille.com/17-lazy-procrastination-statistics/
9. Fear of responsibility — http://ezinearticles.com/?Overcoming-The-Fear-Of-Responsibility&id=473825
This infographic was originally published at: http://www.coraliesawruk.com/fears-hold-leaders-back/
