PPB February 2018

W e live and work in an era of rapid change, violent disruption and great uncertainty. And yet, company owners, leaders and employees alike must learn to productively coexist with fear if we’re to achieve any measure of career success. Just as organizations must be bold, agile and constantly reinventing themselves, so must the individuals who lead and work in them. That means no matter how tempting it is to freeze like a rabbit in the shadow of a hawk, we can’t afford the luxury. Hiding out in a state of fear for too long will kill a career. The good news is, once we’re aware that fear is holding us back, we can take action to overcome it. It’s not always easy, but facing our fears and living to tell about it is always the path to personal growth. Of course, a certain amount of fear is useful. It prevents us from acting rashly and making ill-advised decisions. That’s why it’s not always easy to know when you’ve crossed the line between common-sense caution and career-squashing fear. Watch out for the following red flags: You hold back your good ideas instead of speaking up. When you are about to voice your opinion, do you often stop yourself, afraid of what others might think? A sales manager at a large retail store had a great idea for how to improve a key process in her department, but she kept it to herself. When I asked her why she didn’t mention the idea to others, she said, “I’m always thinking: What if my boss disagrees? What if I’m overlooking a crucial detail? What if they implement my idea and something goes wrong?” You procrastinate on the big stuff. Have you put off acting on important priorities, letting the task slip to the bottomof your to- do list for days, weeks, or months on end? This can be a sign that you fear you won’t do the task well, or that it will backfire somehow. You perpetually play it safe. Do you find yourself taking the safest and least controversial actions at work, even when you know that the “safe route” is the wrong action to take? You’re always looking for someone to blame. When things aren’t going as well as you’d like, is your first impulse to explain how others in the organization contributed to the problem? Fear of being blamed for poor results can be debilitating. You waste time avoiding blame, rather than putting your energy into taking needed action. You sugarcoat the truth or tell lies of omission. This often happens when we are afraid to deliver bad news. Perhaps you don’t tell your subordinate that she needs to improve performance or you don’t share with your boss bad news you received from a customer. Too often we are afraid of what people will think and do if we tell Six Red Flags You Don’t Want to Ignore by Amanda Setili Is Fear Killing Your Career? 64 | FEBRUARY 2018 | THINK