Leaders Are Slayers of Fear

Overcome fear with hope

In a new year, it is best to focus on what leaders must do to be successful.

Leaders must slay fear. We must also offer hope.

Hope must fill the vacuum created when we work to eliminate anxiety. Voids must be filled. If we eliminate one fear, another will replace it if we do not fill that space with hope.

However, slaying fear must come first. Attack this problem with all the vigor you have!

Lesson to Learn

Fear stops many from tackling their most challenging work and life situations. It can stop us from even beginning.

So many issues can be addressed if we only start. What stops us?

We are too often paralyzed by the fear of what is in front of us. What we want to achieve is too tricky, others might not like it, it won’t be perfect, and countless other fears can creep in.

Leaders help their teams and colleagues see that most fear is not reality-based. We perceive many potential outcomes that can be mitigated or corrected as we proceed forward.

Leaders slay fears by helping others process what is really behind hesitancy and delays.

Answer for Me

When confronted with fear, I ask myself what is really behind my fear and if it is real.

My anxiety usually tells me what I consider essential and what I want to go well. Or I may be fearful of what could happen — frequently it is the worst-case scenario.

When I see this in myself and others, I offer recommendations to understand the fear and move forward prudently. I give myself and others the encouragement needed to begin.

Even one small step helps reduce fear and provides hope. I start by laying out why we should be hopeful and what can be accomplished. I accept that not knowing the outcome is natural and allows us to shape it.

Fear is a part of being alive. How I deal with it is my choice.

Action

What fears are holding you and your team back? How can you begin to verbalize what is behind the fear?

What can you do to move forward — with even an incremental step?

Finding ways to take steps forward provides the hope needed. Worries can melt away quickly as you begin to see positive outcomes.

Also, we can develop the necessary skills to avoid what scares us about a situation or move forward despite our fears.

Remember, courage is not the absence of fear. It means we are moving forward despite our fears.

Daily Habits

Acknowledge your fears today. When we verbalize them, they lose their hold over us. We begin to see ourselves and others as fear slayers.

We fill the void with hope and opportunity. We can do this with others when we sit with them in times of fear.

Our very presence gives hope. We show that we value and believe in them. To be a leader of hope that slays fears, we must start with our own lives.

We must give ourselves hope and the skills to be courageous. We need to slay our fears daily in small and more significant ways.

It allows us to smile, move forward, and positively influence those around us.

Do you want more insights?

To learn more about leadership, visit me at www.macny.org.

To get a copy of my book Present-Future Leader, click here.