Fearless Leadership

In a business there are a number of contributing factors that impact the level of success at any given time; some factors are within a company’s control, others are not. However, when it comes to the longevity of a profitable business there tends to be one standout component: Fearless Leadership.

In general, strong leadership is important because it sets the direction of a business, but it goes further than that, it permeates the culture of the entire company, directly or indirectly. This is where Fearless Leadership comes into play.

A Fearless Leader, or put another way, Leadership with the absence of fear, allows a company and its people to naturally evolve. Change is embraced and encouraged as a facilitator of growth, which creates a sense of security for everyone in the business. This leads to greater employee engagement, creativity and productivity.

This is not to say that Fearless Leaders are reckless, quite the contrary, it’s simply that their primary motivation when decision making is not fear based. This type of quiet confidence is both contagious and inspirational, which can be a game changer in relation to long term, sustainable success.

As an example, let’s consider two different companies implementing a new technology, one with Fearless Leadership & one without it.

Where Fearless Leadership is present, employees are open to process changes because they know their job is secure. They take ownership of mistakes because accountability is respected, and failures are considered learning experiences. People are willing to speak up and ask questions, or for help because the environment is made safe to do so. Overall, implementing a new technology is seen as a positive experience for everyone and success rates go way up.

Without a culture of Fearless Leadership, fear can begin to infect employee motivation. New technology & process changes are often resisted because deep down people fear that new efficiencies are a threat to their job security. Mistakes are typically minimized, issues are blown out of proportion, and/or people look for someone to blame when things go wrong, all in an effort to avoid professional shame. Individuals are also more likely to remain silent when they need help and will simply struggle through something out of a fear of looking incompetent. A technology project in this environment becomes painful for all involved.

Through this example it is clear that the level of success of the technology project is heavily impacted by the level of fear present within the company culture.

However, the reality is that a little fear is natural in everyone and does serve a purpose in keeping things balanced; the trick is to keep it in check and ensure that it’s not the primary motivator driving decisions.

One of the best ways to do that? The next time an important decision needs to be made, ask the question: “What’s My True Motivation?” A simple yet very effective way to develop or maintain Fearless Leadership.

The best part is, promoting a culture of Fearless Leadership is almost a guaranteed win all around because people are remarkably receptive to it. They long to trade their fears in for security and acceptance, leading to a more successful and sustainable business in the long term.