The Real Truth about Fear
Fear is part of achieving and maintaining success.
Organizations fail when they don’t fear failure. They believe they’re above the rules or can rest on past accomplishments. Think about GM, Kodak, Enron, and Blockbuster.
4 benefits of fear:
Fear motivates.
- Fear of failure drives you to cover all your bases. Your presentation to the board could make or break you – you prepare like crazy.
- Fear of competitors drives innovation.
- Fear of embarrassment keeps you going when you’d like to quit.
- Fear of regulators pushes companies into compliance.
7 downsides of fear:
Fear prevents.
- Slows. Fearful leaders spend too much time preparing for unlikely exceptions. “What if,” slows progress.
- Costs. Covering all your bases takes resources that could be invested in forward movement.
- Conforms. Fear of corporate leaders motivates people to fall into line. “The CEO wouldn’t like that.”
- Ends. Creativity ends when fear leads the team.
- Blocks. Fear of speaking truth to power keeps leaders isolated and oblivious.
- Limits. A brain dominated by fear isn’t creative.
- Dilutes. The truth that should be spoken is toned down for fear of negative reactions.
7 observations:
- A little fear goes a long way.
- Trust takes you further than fear; love takes us even further. We need something more than fear for long-term motivation, but fear does help us avoid things.
- The flip side of being seen and appreciated is being watched and held accountable.
- The trouble with fear is leaders who believe in it use it way too much.
- A negative consequence that doesn’t hurt isn’t a negative consequence. I have a coaching client who says, “Accountability hurts.”
- “Fear is the mother of foresight.” Thomas Harding
- Action answers fear. One reason I write Leadership Freak is I’m answering my fear of insignificance.
The combination of fear and love says, “I enjoy your approval. I want to make you proud. “
How might leaders use fear for good? For bad?
The difference between courageous and crazy is usually evident only in retrospect 🙂
Thanks Joe. That’s probably true, but it doesn’t help me. 🙂 …. I guess you knew that!
While I appreciate the thought here and enjoy so many of your posts Dan, I may see this one a bit differently. If I may…Those companies also failed because they lacked vision or perhaps the passion waned, or they got lazy and maybe arrogant, complacent, or perhaps they just got the recipe wrong. Regardless, I look at courage as being much more important here, as “Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something is more important than fear.” ~A. Redmoon. When we value something as more important than our fear, what ever that may be, that’s what really motivates many people including me to rise above fear or anything else and overcome to be successful and achieve. With all due respect, while I agree with #2 of your observations, I believe it’s about values, not fear. I would risk running through busy traffic to save my baby. That’s not emphasizing fear, that’s (quickly and with out much forethought) prioritizing my child’s life as being more important than my fear. Therefore, for me, fear takes a backseat to bravery. Our values, passions, and goals transcend fear. Fear should never ever govern. Courage is a different story. While fear may signal danger to help us make course corrections, it is merely a tool (to be tempered); it is secondary and should never be allowed to control our motivations. I respect the challenges, however my main focus is on the mission, the purpose, the win, the love, or what it takes to get it done, but no sir, with all due respect, not fear. I may want to beat the competitor, but no, that drive to win does not come from fear, it transcends it. And, that is what has made America great…doing it in spite of fear, not because if it.
Thanks Ann. I hoped this topic would inspire the type of comment you added.
The belief that we can outgrow fear or that fear isn’t useful is silly to me. Perhaps because fear is a part of my life.
Your focus on courage extends this topic into the positive dimension. Even there, the value of fear shows us what we value. We fear lose of life, in the case of your “child in traffic” illustration. The connection between fear and love shouldn’t be lost.
We don’t fear the death of an enemy in war. But we fear the death of a loved one. Fear in this case is dread of loss.
I feel like I’m only on the fringes of the application of fear to leadership, but the topic in general is misunderstood.
The addition of priorities and values to this conversation, also helps me. There is very little fear associated with losing something we don’t value.
Your suggestion that fear should never control our motives is interesting. It may control our behavior, but motives? That’s fascinating.
I’ll stick with the idea that fear, as well as anger, are great at pointing out things we want to avoid. Both help us see things that matter. Having said that, I’m not suggestion fear and anger are the only, or even the most noble, ways for us to see what matters.
Thank you for your insightful comment!
Best
P.S. Hats off to you for your kind tone.
Thanks Dan, this topic is of great interest to me. Would you mind elaborating any further on your comment, regarding the “application of fear to leadership” and how it is “misunderstood?” Thank you again, Dan.
Ann, just one last thing I forgot to mention which is very important to me. Thank you for your very last line–mentioning “what makes America great.” We don’t hear that in public much any more–especially from us Americans. I echo your sentiments, and add that it’s “our continued gratitude to God” that also makes America exceptional. Thank you again.
Hi Ann: Your comment was well-thought and very well presented. And I agree with you wholeheartedly that leadership decisions must not be fear based. Fear in life, personally and professionally, can be healthy, however. A bible scripture says “Fear is the first step to wisdom.” Some persons can’t learn any other way.
Also, for example, in university-affiliated medical facilities where 3rd year medical students are trained, patients receive the very best diagnosis and treatment because there is a “healthy fear” on the part of students not to overlook anything and to care for each and every detail–or else. Do errors and mishaps occur? Of course. And like YOU say, decisions continue to be made based upon definitive facts, science and judgment, not fear. However, experienced staff doctors take into consideration “student fears and apprehensions” when assessing student decisions. This is how fear can be healthy and how fear can be used to teach our future staff members and leaders.
Ann, have you ever had the experience of reading something in a book which was significant to you, but which you could never find again? You are sure you read it and read it there, but no one else ever read it, nor can anyone find it again. It’s a bit of an enigma to you, and like even a bit of a worry. So, the next time you read something significant, you “fear” this doesn’t happen to you again, and you take measures that it does not. And you even tell others of your experience. This bit of “healthy fear” becomes a valuable lesson and a good teacher.
A little fear yes… The trick is in knowing just how little that is
🙂
Good morning Dan;
Fear is a natural human reaction. It warns us of impending danger. It reveals personal weakness. Fear often convey’s the need to take imediate action. Fear KEEPS US HUMBLE.
After being Honorably Discharged from the United States Marine Corps in 1981, I went to work in the Steelmill that my father had worked at for so many years. For centuries it was apparent ‘No-one’ made Quality Steel Products like the United Steelworker of America, not Japan, not China, no other manufacturer of steel products could match our quality of workmanship. We got lazy, we quit being inovative as we allowed pride to convince us, (the good-ole USA), that no one ever would be able to compete with us. “WE WERE WRONG!”
Chine did not rest. China focused on doing the things nesassary to become a manufacturing Giant in the Steel Industry. Today, United Steelworkers of Amerca’s membership numbers are at an all time low, due in no small part to China exceptional inovative efforts, and our lack thereof.
Fear serve’s many purposes. In Business, NEVER ignore fear, “someday, it may just save your job!!!”
Cheers Dan
SGT Steve
I have a boss who lives by Jim Collins’ concept of “Productive Paranoia” (Google it). I value the idea of turning any potential negative (fear, paranoia, frustration) into a positive force that contributes to success.
I think you’ve described well the double-edged nature of fear. A wise person will not be controlled by fear but learn to use it productively – with respect for its potential to help or harm.
Good post and discussion and it shows that we all have different views and expectations how to succeed and be good leaders starting with “Fear of failure drives you to cover all of our bases.” For me, I prefer to prioritize success over the fear factor with “The desire to be successful (in my endeavors) drives me to cover all of my bases.” I equate it to “Failure is not an option” realizing how we learn valuable lessons from failure but strive not to fail in our planning and efforts. The “fear factor” and its application to leadership should always be present subconsciously but the driving forces to obtain our goals and be successful should be realized and addressed in a positive manner. As always, your thoughts and suggestions, for me, are used many times to reinforce current practices, seek improvement and they also often provide “Wow, I never thought of it that way!” moments. I really enjoy your stuff and look forward to each and every post. Thanks for your contributions!
FEAR: Face Everything And Re_____. Fill in the blank. Recover. React. Reinvent. Reason. Reflect. Marianne
Struggling with this one, Dan… There’s no question that fear must be dealt with. Part of that ‘dealt with’ has to be the upfront efforts to address the fear and make it manageable – and I’m thinking that’s the contex you write about.
But fear can also be paralyzing. That’s the biggest issue – it will quite easily kill any creativity. Creativity means taking risks and taking risks will at times lead to failures. Creativity and failures are a couple!!! My secret for dealing with this: Encourage creative efforts that have been planned to reduce the likelihood of ‘preventable’ failures; but expect failures to happen, dealing with them through reflection and refinement.
Address the fear head-on, right from the start – facilitating an expectation for dealing successfully with failures rather that allowing the fear of failure control you.
Thanks John. Yes. Fear can be paralyzing. That’s definitely the downside. It can also motivate us to do even scarier things. I’m thinking of the illustration of running into traffic to save one of our children. Of course, illustrations only prove themselves. 🙂
I’m all about addressing fears head on…not burying them.
Glad you jumped in today.
There’s a great, age-old leadership question that comes from our ancients that’s still as relevant today as it was 1000 years ago: “Would we rather be feared or loved by our staff members? Perhaps feared, but not hated.”
I believe there is a very fine line between fear and respect, especially in relationships where “failing” simply means a stripping away of the inessential–and “success” means we are living the reality of our dreams–not our fears.
On the fear side of this fine line, sometimes free-will can be a bit terrifying: It’s often better to obey and enjoy the benefits of letting someone else make the decisions. Often some persons are happier when they are willing (not forced) to be in a “submissive” state of mind. It’s like a horse that gets nowhere until it is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
On the respect side of this fine line, the two key elements in personal growth are self-knowledge and self-acceptance. And these are rooted in our Self-Concept in 3 parts: 1) Self-Ideal; the person we’d most like to be, which acts as a directional mechanism in our lives…the winner in us; 2) Self-Image: the way we SEE ourselves, the inner mirror of ourselves…if we wish to change our performance, we have to change this picture of ourselves; 3) Self-Esteem: the way we FEEL about ourselves… how much we like ourselves (which may or may not be real)…determines how we perform in all aspects of our life.
Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in life. Half our fears are baseless; the other half discreditable. Of all the passions–fear weakens judgment the most. Yet, “healthy fear” can keep us more excited than afraid.
Once the companies like, GM, Enron, Kodak were hailed as a most promising company in the world and were respected as an example, but they failed, because they were fearless, they thought they are irreplaceable and no company in the world can challenge their product and dominance in the market. I will take the example of Kodak, when first time digital photography was launched, there was a message to the Kodak to get ready for the onslaught, however, they failed to realize the looming threat and continued to play the same game fearlessly thinking that people do not have choice, rest is the history, the name is erased from memories. they failed to innovate and stopped creativity under the false illusion. Fear is a necessary evil to mend the ways and correct the way we function and explore the new ways and channel for further development. In the corporate , when you become either fearless or apathetic towards the new development, the time has come for finish for sure. but at the same time fear shall not stop the creativity and instill the unnecessary worry in the mind. Fear can be challenged only with the action and timely execution,
I`ve did some thought on your last two blogs Dan and I arose a question for you.
“Would you invest in or join an organization that did not have a full proof plan, and was not confident in there future success?” @Dan Rockwell
I like this….
1. A negative consequence that doesn’t hurt isn’t a negative consequence. I have a coaching client who says, “Accountability hurts.”
Great read…as a person who has struggled with fear…and work everyday to use fear to my advantage, your post was very interesting and useful! I really love …love …love observation # 7 – Action answers fear. One reason I write Leadership Freak is I’m answering my fear of insignificance.
I am pushing past my fears because far too long fear has left me insignificant! No longer! i use fear to my benefit. If something scares me I run to it! it has changed my life. I am sharing your post! Thanks!
Great post and enriched discussion, which I learn for the post that fear is a blessing.
Meanwhile, with all respect I am a little bit confused that on the same time at one flip creativity ends when fear leads the team and at other side fear leads to innovation.
Dan I am a recent follower and share your interest in Leadership which I believe along with Culture can make or destroy organizations and careers. If people studied their firm’s past and current leadership and what is dictated by or critical to their firm’s culture, they would be much more successful.
As a retired CFO in both large public and small private firms, I have also seen a lot of Fear. I would politely disagree with some of your observations about fear. I believe it has little place in a career. It can paralyze people and cause them not to act or to take way too long to act. You mention Board presentations. Too many executives are afraid of their Directors which is not the basis for a healthy relationship and open dialogue. Fear can be sensed and has no place in a Board room.
Thanks for your insightful posts.
Brad, a fellow blogger
It is the fear or the fear of punishment that drives not to do wrong. How we are able to confront fear and why we run from fear. It is NOT the fear itself but the effect it has which is more difficult to handle and hence we fear FEAR
“Fear” … the easy go-to tool that seems to permeate all levels of society. Lazy leaders use fear and are proud to use it as a tactic. Fear is used to justify lower wages, lower accountability, lower expectations to the point that some leaders are delusional in thinking that having “a job” is all the reward you need. FEAR OF LOSING YOUR JOB! Be great-full even when leaders ignore your pleas for fairly and empathy. “You got a job. Suck it up cream puff!” Leaders with EGO issues will use fear to justify their actions. This, however, isn’t rare in the North American society.
I don’t tend to jump at the first sign of fear as a tool. Instead, I try to look at it at a different perspective to see this through the eyes of the fear monger and ask “What is he/she trying to gain?” Whatever that “gain” is will be the thing I will scrutinize for its merits. I’m tired of being made to be fearful. It is draining. What is exhilarating is the ability to ignore irrational fear and peer though the “fear distortion field” and see what is really going on.