Friday 13th … is this one of your fears?
In a couple of days friggatriskaidekaphobia or fear of number 13 will be real to some people. Whether we are superstitious or not, we all have our fears and worries, in our personal lives and in our professional ones.
Most team leaders, newly promoted and seasoned ones alike, will have some fears at some point; fear of not being a good communicator, fear of being a failure or even fear of being seen as an impostor to name but a few.
In many instances some leaders may feel they lack the skillset to be a great leader. As the saying goes, to paraphrase Franklin D. Roosevelt ‘there is nothing to fear but fear itself’. The good news is that there is a remedy: continuous development. Great leaders never stop learning, acquiring new skills and improving on the ones they possess.
In order to stay ahead of the game, in the same way their teams need regular training, leaders have to constantly keep moving, learn and adapt. They need to be self-aware and know what their leadership style is, so they can lead more effectively.
They are many ways they can do this; reading books on self-development and leadership, asking for feedback from colleagues, their managers or their teams, asking for help from others, finding a mentor or a coach, or taking management and leadership courses for instance. The latter is crucial, especially for so-called soft skills, or essential skills, people skills as I prefer to call them, as these are not trained as often as hard skills. These courses increase our awareness of our own behaviours, potentially improving our leadership skills and our understanding of our own leadership style.
So, whether you avoid opening an umbrella inside or turn away if a black cat crosses the street in front of you today,
or don’t care about these superstitions, you need to learn to manage your fears. Be pro-active, do something about them, and don’t let them get the better of you.
If you would like to know how Valentines Learning can help you and your teams, do get in touch. You can contact us here through the website.
I will leave you with a quote by the great Dale Carnegie,
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
Take care, and don’t walk under a ladder!
