Don’t Pressure Timid People to be Brave
Fear might feel safe, but leadership requires boldness.
Fear congeals the past. Boldness builds the future.
Fear is survival-mode. Boldness is opportunity-mode.
Boldness follows hope.
4 ways to build bold teams:
- Provide training.
- Celebrate mistakes. Ask:
- What are you learning?
- What will you do differently next time?
- Who might know?
- Provide coaches and mentors.
- Inspire hope.
Boldness follows hope.
Hope is facing the future believing the journey is worth it.
Don’t pressure timid people to be brave – give them hope and they will be bold.
7 ways to inspire hope:
- Believe in people. The people who believe in us fuel our greatness. Leaders who don’t believe in their people limit their potential.
- Tell people what you care about. Have heart. Stop treating people like machines.
- Promote people who care. Results without heart build uncaring environments. The most important thing about you is the way you treat each other while you fulfill your mission.
- Do things that matter. Never complete meaningless tasks; achieve meaningful vision. Make the world better.
- Ask for feedback about your performance frequently. High performance teams connect over feedback.
- Celebrate effort, it keeps people moving forward.
- Encourage people to rest and renew.
Leaders who inspire hope lead bold teams.
How might leaders build bold teams?
How might leaders inspire hope?
This is a great reminder for me. The most natural way for me to get people to do anything is to say “Buck up! Just do it! You’ll fail and next time you’ll be better!” and that really doesn’t help when they are timid. I constantly have to monitor myself. I’ll remember you advice for building hope. Thanks!
Thanks Ginny. I’m with you. What’s the problem? Just go for it. But there are some great people who like to look before they leap. 🙂
Dan Fear is understandable at entry level because you know so little of what is going on or what you should do. That is where your suggestions have the most impact.
What bothers me is Fear in members of the senior management team. This is especially lethal for an organization in crisis
Thanks Brad. Your interjection of tenure expands the perspective of this post. You hope that long-term members learn that failure isn’t final. You’re making me think about people who work hard to preserve face. I wonder if hope works in those cases?
Bold is so much better than brave!!! Thanks for this latest post. BRAVE, to me at least, suggests a defensive stance in preparation for an attack against you. BOLD on the other hand, is very much an offensive move on a situation important to many. BRAVE, again to me at least, suggests the possibility of total loss. BOLD on the other hand, suggests learning from and moving on from any missteps / mistakes.
Thanks John. Love the distinctions you point out. You took the term bold to new levels. I like the forward feel of bold. You helped me see it more clearly.
Excellent way to tackle timid people. I have witnessed the adverse results of pressurizing timid individuals whose position got worse and they lost hope that they too can contribute meaningfully. This happened right in our organisation by the high handedness of our leader who refused to change or mend his ways despite loosing people.
Thanks Subramanian. In an aggressive world, it seems like being timid is a cardinal sin. But, I find timid people make great contributions. It goes back to adapting to people and bringing out their best. I’ll grant you that timid people won’t fit in all organizations.
One of the greatest steps organizations can take is to drive-out fear. In doing so, you set a climate that encourages growth. Organizations will always have mustangs of leadership that have no fear and are willing to charge forward at any cost however, they are few. Therefore, organizations should harness the power of their people and allow that energy to drive their organization to new territory of success. When fear is allowed and even times encouraged, it discourages growth and inhibits people from becoming an integral part of the organization.
Thanks Brent. I love your approach to this topic. You remind me of Simon Sinek’s latest, “Leaders Eat Last.” Drive out fear by setting a climate of growth. -gold-
Fantastic post for leaders to know.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks Naren.
I think the first encouragement for timid people is to give them full attention, listen actively without interruption.
Thanks Bill. That’s a great suggestion. Be present and listen. The challenges of listening sometimes overwhelm leaders. I like to tell them to ask a question and just stop talking. 🙂
I love this quote Dan: “Do things that matter. Never complete meaningless tasks; achieve meaningful vision. Make the world better.” nothing kills hope faster than meaningless tasks. Another great way I coach leaders to inspire hope is to find genuine things you appreciate about your team members and to share it with them. Help them feel seen for the little or big things they do – its amazing how little we say thank you and the hope it inspires in us when we hear a heartfelt appreciation.
Speaking of … Dan, thank you for giving such great wisdom into the leadership community. I love the breadth and soul you bring into every piece.