There is a lot of fear in the system right now.
This is particularly concerning for leaders who must deliver new products or methods. Specifically, new research shows that three fears hold back corporate innovation more than other anxieties:
- Fear of criticism
- Fear of uncertainty
- Fear of negative impact on one’s career.
Remarkably: While 85% of executives agree that fear stymies their organization’s ability to innovate, 9 of 10 companies are doing nothing to mitigate these fears.
Which is more intolerable:
- Leaders who intentionally perpetuate fears in the system (somehow still believing that a stressed employee is an agent of high performance)?
- Or, knowing that only 1 in 10 organizations are intentionally creating climates of confidence?
Your leadership – your conscious confidence – is needed. Here is what effective leaders of innovative organizations are doing:
- The antidote for a fear of criticism: Communicate a belief in others by consistently applauding their courage, curiosity and core strengths.
- The remedy for a fear of uncertainty: Create an environment that embraces ambiguity and reinforce or emphasize those things that are not changing.
- The solution when others fear a negative impact to their career: Emphasize and celebrate employees with a track record of success or a portfolio of wins, more than the one-hit wonders. The result: One or two “mistakes” or “misses” are seen as nothing compared to the exponential number of successes generated.
The system is full of people that believe tomorrow is going to be worse than today. Which presents you with yet another opportunity to do big things.
Your confidence is on call.
