“Fear, like joy or curiosity, is contagious among beasts and birds, as it is among men . . . . Animals are afraid on general principles. Anything new and strange excites their suspicions. In a herd of animals, cattle or horses, fear quickly becomes a panic and rages like a conflagration. Cattle men in the West found that any little thing at night might kindle the spark in their herds and sweep the whole mass away in a furious stampede. Each animal excites every other, and the multiplied fear of the herd is something terrible. Panics among men are not much different.”
— from The Century Magazine, Harvard University, 1904
It’s been a while since we’ve seen the emotion “fear” written about so extensively. Word count in The New York Times over the past seven days for “fear:” 109.
How many times has Fear appeared in conversations at your company in the past week?
Fear is a legitimate, useful emotion. But Fear is dangerous when:
- It paralyzes leaders. They become so overwhelmed with the big picture of what could go wrong that they fail to act.
- It is ignored by leaders. Fear is a “warning” emotion. It suggests that something threatening could happen or is happening. Leaders who repress it may miss legitimate warning signals.
- It panics leaders. Leaders who respond with 100% emotion but 0% reasoning risk leading their company “off the cliff” with the panicked herds.
Wise, grounded Leaders choose their response to fear. They manage it, instead of letting it control them.
Some thoughts on how to respond to fears you face as a Leader right now:
- Talk about your fears. This is not a time for a Leader to be on an island. Expressing your fears with a confidant reduces the pressure that grows when they are simply “bottled up.”
- Name them. Despite the rhetoric of the media or politicians, we are NOT a universal herd with an identical list of dangers to be afraid of. Instead of taking on the fears of the world (or the nation, or the markets, or your industry) identify what specifically threatens you and the people you lead.
- Get the facts. The power of fear grows in proportion to the unknown. So reduce the unknown by getting the best handle you can on exactly where your company is at risk.
- Do the next thing. Rarely can we make the entire problem go away in a master stroke. But solving incremental smaller problems, one step at a time, moves us towards daylight.
- Be open to opportunity. Acknowledge the changes you must make and move on. I’ve had conversations with two CEOs in the past 24 hours who face direct, substantial, negative consequences from bank and capital market failures making headlines this week. Each shared with me new opportunities they are pursuing in light of their current (unpleasant) realities.
- Model the way. Fear is contagious. If you’re always hunkered down in your office behind closed doors during scary times, guess what those who follow you are doing. Use the list above as a checklist for steps you can take to guide others in the face of fear.
I like this quote, attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband led our country through some fearful times:
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.
The contours of our character are chiseled in times of crisis. How does your response to fear right now reflect your Leadership character?
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Forward this to a Leader.
For additional thoughts, you may want to re-read this post here.
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