Fear Of Poor Performance

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.

Hot Air Balloon

You get inflated with enthusiasm, hyped up on new ideas, and chase the next adventure, but you aren’t centered or anchored to any fundamentals. When the winds of change start swirling you come crashing down. Rather than building through a transformation gradually, you focus on the next burst, which ultimately leads to a burst that brings you down.

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.

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.

You set aside your values for the values and priorities of your customers, team members or boss.

Your performance defines your self-worth. You need your approval.