How can you lead with confidence and power when you’re feeling uneasy? When your thoughts and heart are racing, how can you inspire and motivate others? And where does the fear goes if you try to be a strong leader by hiding it?
According to psychologist Rollo May’s 1977 essay, Now, we are not prey of tigers or mastodons but rather to harm of our self-esteem, rejection by our group, or the prospect of failing in a competitive conflict or struggle.
Although the form of anxiety has taken new forms but, the experience is mostly unchanged.
Fear of the future is the root of the anxiety, sometimes the fear is not rational and sometimes it is. And other instances, it pertains to events that will take place in three minutes or thirty years.
Good news for all who successfully have managed anxiety for a quiet time. According to research, anxious persons interpret threats differently and use the brain’s action-related regions. Whenever there is a threat, the anxious ones act immediately. They might also feel more at ease in difficult situations.
Anxiety, when used properly, can inspire us to increase the resourcefulness, productivity, and creativity of our teams. It can dismantle barriers and forge fresh connections.
Anxiety is not completely useless, during the financial crisis it is anxiety that awakes us at night and helps us to be able to come up with a plan to keep the companies operating. But, if left unchecked, anxiety causes us to become distracted and thus eventually, drains our energy, and influences our important decision-making. Since anxiety is a potent foe, we must make it our ally.
Anxiety doesn’t stop someone to be a successful leader. It’s up to the individual that how they’ll manage their anxiety while leading others. If you’ll don’t confront your anxiety at some point, it will bring you down. Although this is a little difficult, but adopting the right approach in the right direction can improve both life and the capacity to lead others.
And it starts with :
- Acknowledging and embracing your emotions.
- Taking action to control/manage your anxiety.
- Limiting the impact of anxiety on your leadership.
Better leadership role models are desperately needed, especially when society often portrays depression and anxiety as weaknesses. Leadership is a wonderful opportunity to change the perception.
Reference : https://hbr.org/2020/05/leading-through-anxiety