Leadership: Handling Fear in a Downturn, Post-Brexit…or Any Other Time!

When things get rocky in the corporate world, investment decisions get put on hold, budgets get slashed, marketing stops and decisions don’t get made.

Clients can begin to penny-pinch, and prospects you’ve worked hard to get lined up get cold feet. Your revenue funnel melts and your sales projections become fiction.

Whether it’s Brexit, Trump, shareholders or even just the weather, how can you and your organisation get over the dreaded F word?

FEAR

Fear is evil. It paralyses. It messes with your brain. It stops you thinking straight. And it stops you doing things. Bad for an individual – terrible for a leader.

My mother had a stone by the fireplace with a prayer inscribed on it. It was a simple prayer but hey – aren’t they the best ones?

“God grant me the courage to change the things I can,

the patience to accept the things I can’t,

and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Some may scoff – but there are many out there who are scared. A friend described his client base as being “stunned with fear”. Normally decisive leaders and communicators are crippled by fear. Petrified into inactivity. Frozen.

It is true that a level of adrenalin, a fear of failure, nerves – all of these can be good when directed and channelled correctly. When I was a tennis coach this was true of every winner who did not want to be a loser. The same is true of speakers on the TEDMED stage and those leading people through challenging times. From CEO to small business owner. Harnessing and redirecting fear is a good thing.

But fear can also stunt and immobilise. Leadership is easy (short term) when things are going well. In challenging times your leadership will be assessed by your warmth and strength in showing empathy, direction and purpose: clear, reassuring, honest communication plus considered action are your friends.

Seth Godin says that fear is the enemy of creativity:

But fear can also be the enemy of action – proactive or reactive.

Leadership and Fear

The best way way to deal with fear is to look it in the face. Then see what’s the worse that can happen, accept it and then do what you can to mitigate or prevent it.

Which brings me back to the wisdom of that prayer on the stone. Focus and fix what you can do. Forget the rest – worrying will not help. Worrying will only use up valuable energy and distract you from doing what you CAN do!

Focus on action. Action drives away depression and contains and repurposes fear.

The action gets you moving – slow movement is almost always better than no movement. Action makes you feel better too!

Need some fresh eyes to help with your corporate strategy?

I help leaders in businesses, campaigns and organisations develop their strategy.
If you feel a questioning outside voice could be helpful – get in touch:
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