One of the great privileges of my job is the opportunity it provides to create a space where clients - be they teams or individuals - can be honest about what's going on at work.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, one thing that often comes up in that safer space which is holding clients back from clear thinking and effective action at work is fear.
It takes real courage to admit to fear at work but, once you do, it's possible to progress to deeper clarity and a more effective way forward. As the often quoted (at least by me) James Baldwin saying goes: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” ** It's not just that I get to hear my clients' fears as we work together but they get to hear their own fears and, in so doing, to understand and resolve them more effectively.
People are often afraid to say that they are afraid at work because even the confession of fear can (wrongly) feel like failure or a sign that they're not up to it. And, for many people, it feels easier to hide from fear at work than to hear it.
But here's the thing - fear (like all strongly felt emotions) - is a rich source of useful information. So if you,
your team or a colleague are currently experiencing a sense of fear or anxiety at work, here are a couple of ideas to help you to get clear on your fear and to move forward.
Your fear might be telling you that you lack sufficient clarity
about the situation. Fear of the unknown is natural even among the most gung-ho of us. If that's where the fear is coming from, it might help to ask, "What am I/ what are we feeling uncertain or unclear about?" and "Where might I/ where might we be able to get a bit more clarity on that?"
Your fear might be telling you that something matters to you more than you realised. In this sense, fear - which feels so negative - can positively reveal what we value even more than excitement does.
If this is
where the fear is coming from, firstly, acknowledge it, recognise, "Wow! This is more important to me or to us than I thought." and then ask, "What makes it so important?" Sometimes, that importance means you're placing additional pressure on yourself to do a perfect job when actually the key is to get going and make progress. Sometimes, recognising the importance allows you to be intentional in allocating more time or emphasis or resources to this task or
project.
Finally, your fear might be telling you that something bigger is going on. Sometimes, when you take the time to examine it a bit, you'll recognise that the sense of dread you feel around a project or issue or assignment at work is disproportionate
to the actual task or project or situation at hand.
At that point, it is worth addressing that something bigger may be going on. When things at work as a whole or in your wider life are awry, it's easy to project that very real unease, anxiety and fear onto a particular
aspect of your work as opposed to locating it where it actually belongs.
If this is where you find yourself, do your best to get clear on what is actually making you fearful. The key is to take a step back and look at the bigger picture; perhaps
do some exploratory writing*** to get clear in your own head on what the real issue is; perhaps talk to a wise friend or colleague or collaborator or coach.
