Follow This 4-Step Process Daily To Prevent The Fear of Failure From Derailing Your Leadership Ability.
Step 1: Acknowledge the Fear
- Recognize and accept you have a fear of failure, especially the fear of the group's failure. You must have awareness before you can master the regulation required to overcome.
- Fear of failure is like carrying a heavy load uphill. To overcome it, you must first acknowledge it's there. Then you can seek the help needed to carry the load.
- Example: A Blue avoids proposing changes to a project, fearing the team might fail and it would reflect poorly on everyone.
Emotional Push-Up:
- Spend five minutes each day reflecting on successful team projects and the role you played. Specifically when it came to increasing the competence of those around you.
Step 2. Identify Triggers and Reactions
- Pinpoint situations and responses linked to the fear of failure to understand patterns and trends and take proactive corrective measures.
- Identifying triggers of failure is like mapping a maze. Knowing the dead ends helps you navigate more effectively, and avoid the setbacks that make you more emotional.
- Example: Realizing the onset of anxiety - and how it is often tied to the way others are behaving, eroding your confidence in the team’s ability.
Emotional Push-Up:
- Review your patterns you uncover with others to help you simplify them and make them actionable for the entire team.
Step 3. Develop Coping Strategies
- Create actionable plans to manage fear triggers to increase your feelings of control and competence.
- Developing coping strategies is like creating a safety net. Each strategy supports you in times of need.
- Example: Preparing contingency plans for potential project pitfalls to feel more secure and prepared - even if you never end up using them.
Emotional Push-Up:
- Practice one new coping strategy each day, like developing a contingency plan or seeking feedback. You can also go back and iterate old plans. Anything that offers calm that you are prepared is worthwhile.
Step 4. Practice and Reflect
- Apply strategies, then reflect on outcomes and adjust as needed to ensure continuous improvement and mastery.
- Practice and reflection are like tuning a musical instrument. Continuous effort keeps all the moving parts of your project or team in perfect harmony.
- Example: After a project review, reflect on how you handled your anxiety about failure and what you could improve next time. How might you have been more proactive in sharing your expectations of others?
Emotional Push-Up:
- Spend five minutes each evening reflecting on the day's interactions and writing down one positive outcome that was only made possible by you increasing another person’s clarity. Find out what was unique about them / the situation and look for ways to grow beyond that.