Don’t Let Fear and Paranoia Sink Your Leadership

Today’s climate in organizations can be dominated by the fear of safety and security. My partners and I have been speaking to CEOs and other senior executives across The United States over the last several months asking questions to determine what new best practices they have discovered that helped them conduct their operations that not only keep their employees safe and feeling secure, but also empower their leadership as CEOs and owners. ​

I’ve married these insights with my own leadership experiences, particularly as a young Executive working for Xerox. I was determined not to let my age, or my inexperience working in a large organization and the attitude of my older peers to keep me feeling fearful or intimidated. The commitments and actions I took then are the same actions I would suggest for any owner and executive today that will help build trust and decrease fear and anxiety with people in your organization at any level. 

1.     Reach out and talk to people without a business agenda. 

• Ask people who do not report to you to spend some time (20 to 30 minutes) chatting over Zoom. 
• Tell them your mission is to get better acquainted, check in and see how they’re doing. Also, to let them get to know you better. 
• Put this on your calendar over the month you can do this with 6 to 8 people. Word will spread around the organization and people will start to have a different interpretation about the type of CEO running their company. 
• Keep it up and in a quarter or 2, you will begin to change the image of who you are as the leader of your company.  

2.     Trust your colleagues more than you think is wise. I have rarely experienced this being a bad decision. 

• I have found the trust that it eventually builds is worth the risk. 
• The reputation for trusting people builds equity in those relationships which strengthens the capacity of teams to deliver exceptional results. 
• My older peers at Xerox began to appreciate why the Chairman hired me, started to respect me and we began to help each other when needed.
• I take a stand that people are trustworthy. By giving trust rather than “waiting for people to earn it” generates a mood of active mutual support which invigorates high-performance in individuals and teams. 

3.     Pay attention to other people and to what they are saying and thinking. It’s natural for all of us to want to express our own ideas and opinions, yet the higher we are in an organization, the more important it is that we deeply listen to the ideas and opinions of others. 

• When we bestow the gift of listening, it empowers others to feel respected and appreciated. 
• We don’t have to agree with what they say (although we might) we just have to listen and acknowledge that we have heard them and listened deeply. 
• If appropriate, we can have someone follow up or thank them for contributing their thoughts to you. Either way, you want to leave them with a feeling of satisfaction that they have been heard and valued. 

When you use these 3 practical behaviors, you will find it pays big dividends in increasing feelings of wellbeing, which can lead to higher levels of productivity within your organization.