What are you afraid of?
Few people talk about fears in leadership. Doing so would be perceived as a sign of weakness in many environments. (Me? Afraid? Don’t be silly.)
A quick assessment of the normative behaviors on many teams, however, shows that people are regularly acting out of fears – which blocks their ability to effectively collaborate with others. Even if you truly are fearless, as a collaborative leader it’s worth looking past the false bravado common today to remind ourselves of why colleagues do what they do.
Here are 5 fears of leaders that block collaboration, ranked in no particular order. And while each fear is demonstrated in multiple forms, one example is included.
Fear #1: The fear of losing power. This shows up when we prioritize alignment functionally or vertically as opposed to aligning our teams to the value stream that runs horizontally across the organization.
Fear #2: The fear of being vulnerable. It’s reported that up to 70% of people will experience “imposter syndrome” – which drives some to go to great lengths to hide any sign of weakness.
Fear #3: The fear of being judged. This is commonly expressed by not speaking the truth or betraying our authentic style so we aren’t outcast from the team.
Fear #4: The fear of losing identity. When someone allows their reputation for what they do to become who they are, they’re susceptible to promoting themselves instead of what’s right for the customer.
Fear #5: The fear of losing control. This is expressed by a resistance to empowering others or collaborating too frequently.
Leadership isn’t about not having fears (this would indicate that you’re not human…which causes other difficulties). Leadership consists of the remarkable act of facing down one’s own fears so we can guide others past theirs.
