All of these symptoms in isolation can be caused by a number of things, a high level of illness, for example, could be the result of a single, genuine virus, and a lack of motivation could be the temporary result of a crisis. staff. However, together they indicate the classic signs of fear of failure. It heals easily but is devastating if left untreated.

Are you or someone on your team showing the following symptoms?

1. Recurrent inadequate performance

2. Regularly missed targets

3. Defensiveness or justification of ineffective actions or behaviors

4. High level of disease

So this is what happens when a person suffers from a fear of failure, but what exactly is the condition that produces such symptoms? How does a good leader or manager identify if this is affecting their business?

The fear of failure is really a fear of the consequences one imagines will follow “failure.” Sometimes the person has no idea what failure will bring and for them it is this uncertainty that is often even scarier. John described this perfectly when he said during a training session: “I know I’m good at my job, I know my staff respect me and love me, but I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach. This feeling prevents me from saying what I really think.” sometimes and it prevents me from facing problems, but I don’t know what to do about it!”

The fight or flight reaction in humans to fearful situations is well documented. The fear of failure demonstrates how this response has evolved in modern situations. Someone who reacts in flight mode will run away, either literally or metaphorically. They may not do the things they have said they will, bury their heads in the sand, or fail to recognize what is going on around them. If they are in fight mode, they may blame others, including their team leader or manager, or actively try to undermine their staff or colleagues. For example, Brian was being trained to develop better relationships with his staff. He claimed that he needed to be tough with them to earn their respect, but when he investigated why he felt the need to be so nasty, we discovered that he was actually afraid of being outed as a “fraud.” Despite his knowledge and experience, he still had a deep-rooted fear of failing and being seen as a failure by others and that was affecting his ability to be a good leader and inspire the best results throughout the team. of the.

“While the emergency measure of the stress response is undoubtedly vital and valuable, it can also be disruptive and damaging. Most humans rarely face emergencies that require extreme physical exertion, but our biology still covers them. Thus, we may find our stress response is activated in situations where physical action is inappropriate or even illegal.This activation affects both our body and mind.Disruption of sexual response and digestive system are common negative results. Diarrhea, constipation and difficulty maintaining sexual arousal are typical examples” is the description given in my Wikipedia encyclopedia.

This explanation makes it easy to see how someone might react with a higher level of illness if they have a bad case of fear of failure.

Any self-respecting doctor will tell you that to make an accurate diagnosis you must first examine the patient. However, when it comes to diagnosing the cause of poor performance, many managers make judgments without first taking the time to thoroughly examine the individual. This regularly leads to a misdiagnosis and increases the chance of recurrence.

A complete examination is formed in three stages.

HISTORY

Has the subject suffered from a similar condition before? How was it treated and was the treatment effective? Is this a recurrence of the above problem? Keep in mind that it is always possible that the original diagnosis was incorrect. Claire had previously gone through a disciplinary proceeding for her inconsistent performance. At that time they had attributed the cause to some personal problems she was suffering from at the time. When this similar case occurred, we dug deeper and were able to establish that this had been a repeating pattern throughout her life in many different areas. And they all had one thing in common, she was afraid of not succeeding and letting her family down.

ASSESSMENT

For the doctor this means a physical evaluation of the patient. As a manager or leader, this means having a thorough conversation with the staff member, probably in a face-to-face meeting. Where are you now? What is happening in your life? Review the symptoms and ask if there is a particular time when they are triggered. What time do they arrive and disappear? What pattern do the symptoms follow? Does the individual have any idea about the cause? Are the immediate symptoms the only ones or are there others that are not so apparent? What areas are functional? What is the difference between those areas and problem areas?

INQUIRIES

After a complete examination, the doctor will usually have an idea of ​​the condition the patient is suffering from and will require any relevant tests or investigations to be carried out which will confirm or exclude possible causes. As a manager or leader, these tests and investigations will take the form of questions such as what prevents the individual from producing the required results. What stops them lies in the fear of failure? The observations show how the individual deals with everyday situations that arise in the course of his work. Then one can assess their interactions with others and the decisions they make and ask again: what is keeping this individual from working at their best in his role? Is your behavior of him rooted in the fear of failing?