Courageous Leadership: Conquering Your Fear

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By Sheryl S. Jackson

Money and work are the leading cause of stress, according to 76 percent of respondents to research conducted by the American Psychological Association, American Institute of Stress. Factors contributing to stress caused by job pressure and money included co-worker tension, work overload, loss of job and reduced retirement funds.

"There is real, palpable fear in the workplace that jobs or salaries are always at risk," says Sharon Melnick, PhD, chief executive officer of Horizon Point and author of Success Under Stress: Powerful Tools for Staying Calm, Confident, and Productive When the Pressure's On. "Of course, job loss is always the elephant in the room but there is also the fear of a salary reduction," she says. "Even though companies reduce salaries in an effort to save jobs, the decrease makes it difficult to pay bills or save for a child’s college or for retirement."

MANY STRESSORS IN TODAY’S WORKPLACE

Changing job responsibilities and retraining employees to handle new jobs also create additional stress and anxiety. Even when companies try to keep current employees as they restructure to be more efficient, the change affects employees’ self-confidence as they worry about their ability to handle the new job.

Another fear that employees face in an uncertain workplace is the fear of making a mistake, says Melnick. "They believe that a mistake will expose the fact that they may not be the best person for the job and that they will be at risk of losing their job." Mistakes in this type of environment create a loss of confidence and lead to a situation that is not healthy for the business, she says. "Fear affects what employees will and won’t say to managers or in meetings." People are afraid to suggest new ideas and they may choose courses of action for the wrong reasons – they choose safe actions rather than an action they believe might be better.

"Managers are not second guessed and people don’t report mistakes, even if those mistakes affect the business down the line," Melnick says. For example, an employee who suspects a supervisor is stealing from the company and altering the books to hide the theft may be hesitant to report it because there is no proof. The fear of losing a job due to reporting a suspicion can lead to ignoring the illegal act.

While changes in the workplace affect different ages differently, with the influx of technology overwhelming older employees, and a lack of experience affecting younger employees, stress levels might be amplified for minorities, says Melnick. "Anxiety is present in all minorities, gender, race or culture," she says. "If someone normally feels additional stress as a minority, the fear of job loss is just an additional layer of stress."

To reduce stress due to fear of job loss or other workplace issues, it is important to remember that stress is a physical reaction that is normal, says Melnick. "Our stress response is activated when we perceive a threat. This gives us the ability to focus intently on the threat." Reaction to stress responses used to be physical, such as running away from a saber tooth tiger, but today, humans respond to stress mentally. "Stress causes us to focus so narrowly on a problem, we can’t see the solution," she says. "This is especially dangerous for business leaders, who need to look forward and think strategically, instead of focusing only on today’s problem."

ADDRESS FEAR

One of the biggest mistakes managers or business leaders make is not addressing the fear honestly with employees, says Howard Ross, founder and chief learning officer, Cook Ross Inc., and author of ReInventing Diversity:Transforming Organizational Community to Strengthen People, Purpose, and Performance. "The best way to manage fear in the workplace is through engagement," he explains.

Ross speaks from personal experience. In 2009, businesses began cutting budgets for organizational learning and workforce consulting, so Ross knew his firm would lose work. "We pulled everyone together and described the situation," he says. "I told them we had a great team and did not want to lose anyone but we did need to plan for the future." The plan Ross described to his employees was based on company cash flow. Ross and his partner set a cash flow floor for the company and once that number was reached, the two partners would reduce their salary by 15 percent and reduce staff members’ salaries by 10 percent. "Not only did everyone know the plan but they knew it before we were at a point of implementation. This gave people time to plan and it let them know everyone was in the same boat."

The good news for Ross and his staff was that the salary cuts were never needed. The better news for everyone is that all staff members stayed with the firm, positioning them to handle new clients once budgets were back in place. "We’ve been growing steadily with our experienced staff while other firms that let people go have scrambled to find good employees."

TAKING ACTION REDUCES FEAR

"Being proactive and taking control of the situation is the best way to conquer fear," says Kim Goff, chief executive officer of Goff Software Consultants. Start by evaluating your skills, strengths and weaknesses. If you are a manager, look at how well you manage employees. "If your poor communication skills or aggressive manner create a hostile work environment, your job is not safe," she explains. Although companies may be cutting positions in some areas, there are good employees they want to keep. If a poor manager is responsible for good employees leaving to work at other companies, the manager may be no longer needed.

Employees should take a good look at what positions the company is cutting and what positions are being added, suggests Goff. "If you are working in human resources, which is stagnant or loses a position with each layoff, but the information technology department is growing, visit the IT director and ask about open positions." Find out what skills are needed and what opportunities might be available if you are able to learn those skills, she says.

If you are in a department that is rapidly changing, such as marketing, be sure you stay up-to-date on new strategies such as social media, says Goff. Knowing how to use Twitter and Facebook to drive customers to a company website is important but you also need to understand how to connect those activities to sales and traditional marketing metrics.

Within your company, talk with peers in other departments to see what is happening. "Also, visit department heads of other departments and let them know you’re interested in learning new skills," says Goff. "Ask what skills they need for different positions."

If you can’t talk with a department head, find out what the job position titles are for the department and Google them, suggests Goff. "There is a lot of information in job listings, including salary ranges, experience needed and skills required." Use your research to develop a game plan to acquire skills.

Most importantly, make sure you provide value to your company in your current job, says Goff. "You have to be courageous to be proactive, but you can’t neglect the current job." There’s no guarantee it is slated for elimination and your interest in developing new skills may make you more valuable in the long run.

In addition to taking action, you can also control the mental part of fear, says Melnick. Deep breathing exercises to calm yourself when anxiety starts to rise along with the realization that you can only control certain things will help. "Consider a worst case scenario, such as total loss of job, and make a plan to handle finances and other personal issues if you do lose the job," she suggests. "Also, update your résumé, make a list of places you will contact and have the plan ready to implement. If you’ve already planned for the worst, you won’t be overwhelmed if it happens."

Melnick also recommends limiting time for worrying. "Set up a "worry time" when you can limit the worries," she says. "For example, tell yourself that you will only worry for the 15 minutes it takes to drive home, then once your home, you’ll focus on something else."

By not letting the worries take over your life, you’ll be better able to handle stress because you can focus on other things – relationships, community and skills. Melnick adds, "It isn’t about trying to control everything, because we can’t. Be impeccable for the 50 percent that can be controlled and take the right actions to replace the fear."