Fear #
5
Fear Of Poor Performance
Fear Description
For the person with this fear, performance equals worth. Perform well all the time and your value is proven. Don’t perform well or don’t do enough and you are worthless. The problem is you can never produce enough results to satisfy the fear and deem yourself worthy. It will always require more. The next accomplishment, the next success, will be quickly consumed and the fear will demand to be fed again. No matter the success and accomplishments, when the motive for achievement is rooted in this fear, the sense of worthiness will remain ever out of reach.
Leadership Style
Hot Air Balloon
The hot air balloon gets inflated with enthusiasm, hyped up on new ideas, and chases the next adventure, but isn’t centered or anchored to any fundamentals. When the winds of change start swirling, it comes crashing down. Rather than building through a transformation gradually, the hot air balloon focuses on the next burst, which ultimately leads to a bust that brings it down.
Core Value
What you value is an important element for any successful team or organization. However, in limbo moments when you feel stress, pressure, change or uncertainty, your values will become out-of-balance, causing you to build unbalanced teams and create an unbalanced culture.
The core value of those with this fear is Accomplishments. Without awareness, in times of stress you will overvalue Success and undervalue Progress.
You Undervalue
Progress
Your Core Value
Accomplishments
You Overvalue
Success
Core Doubt
Every leader pursuing an ambitious horizon experiences doubts. You will experience relational doubts ("Do they like me?") and you will experience mission doubts ("Am I doing a good job?"). At the root of it all is a mindset doubt.
If this is your top fear, your core doubt is "I doubt I can do enough". Here are also a few questions that may help you see and understand your doubt better.
Hiding Question
Am I avoiding an opportunity because I don't see how to win?
Core Doubt
I doubt I can do enough
Proving Question
Is my measure of success based on how much I can get done?
Non-Supportive Habits
You set aside your values for the values and priorities of your customers, team members or boss.
The Limiting Beliefs
Your performance defines your self-worth. You need your approval.
3 Things to Apply
1. Recognize Learning In Hidden Places
Learn to recognize the critiques and objections from others as requests for help, and indications of where you can improve. It’s like a tree deciphering the whispers of the wind as cues for growth.
2. Value Pacing Over Achievement
Your natural drive to achieve is a core strength, but it can cause you to ignore when the pace for you or the team is too much. Pausing to refuel before the tank is empty will get you farther and faster to the future you want. Be like the tree taking measured steps in growth rather than hastily stretching for the sky.
3. Focus On Character Over Achievement
You have the drive and the charisma but history is littered with people whose talent outpaced their character, thus sabotaging their dreams. Concentrate on personal growth. Just as a tree's true strength lies in its roots supporting its majestic form, your enduring impact rests on the foundation of a strong character.
3 Things to Avoid
1. Stop Resenting Painful Feedback
The feedback is a gift. Not all critiques are true but don’t dismiss the gold because you don’t value the source. Learn to hear where you can get better without losing who you really are. Like a tree drawing sustenance from varied soils, listen, discern, and let the insights enrich the soil of your character.
2. Don’t Neglect Lower Speeds
Learning to pace appropriately, moving from resting to running, will keep you and the team engaged at their best and for the long haul. Leaders that only move in 1 speed ruin their future by wearing themselves and others out. Like a tree's growth, you can flourish in the rhythm of deliberate pacing, shifting between rest and dynamic movement.
3. Don’t Hate The Obstacles
When you equate your worth with your advancements, obstacles can cause you to compromise who you are and your values. Instead, allow the obstacle to teach you pacing and kindness in the midst of the struggle. Let them become the rings of your tree trunk, evidencing the growth.
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