High Performance Leadership

Fear is a funny thing. It warns us. It gets in the way. It protects us from harm. It prevents bigger achievements. Fear is a funny thing. Nothing to laugh at, but nothing to surrender to, either. What if that fear is telling you something other than avoidance? What if it is really excitement bubbling up to energize your next great achievement? Maybe that fear is there to help you move forward. Take caution, of course. Weigh all the choices and ramifications. But mobilize! What you're afraid of really wants to help you. Listen. -- doug smith

Teams get worried. Rumors fly. Competitors take market share. Fear can develop and impact performance in negative ways. It can become a self-reinforcing cycle of lowered expectations, lowered performance, and lowered results. High performance leaders find the fear points and instead of letting that rest, work collaboratively to overcome the challenge. Retake market share. Raise expectations. Improve performance. Innovate. Find the fear and offer hope, rather than feeding the fear. -- doug smith

What are you afraid of? We're all afraid of something. Some of us are afraid of many things. It makes sense to be afraid when danger threatens your physical or emotional well-being. If your life is in danger, deal with it promptly even if that means running away. Could it be that our fear centers are over-working? Is it possible that we avoid too many things that need a healthy supply of confrontation? High performance leaders confront their fears. They face into the risk knowing that they will grow in the process. It takes practice. It takes building muscles over the years and continuing to learn long after you think you know all the answers. That's just the beginning. Fears are there to warn you AND to challenge you. Can you handle this? Are you ready for this? Are you going to let this turn into an opportunity or a stalling game of keep-away? Challenge your fears, don't worship them. You're bigger than they are. -- doug smith

When we find ourselves in the middle of a problem, fear can slow us down. Fear can immobilize us just as we are about to achieve our goals. Fear can be a signal, but it does not have to be a brake. Fear is feedback, not your fate. -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com Solving Problems | Achieving Your Goals