A NATION IN FEAR
There is lots of anger going on in our world. From the left and right, men and women, white/black/brown, and everyone in between. When I see anger, I always remember that anger is the outward expression of fear. Fear breeds anger. Fear boils up in people and anger is the outlet. And we seem to have a leader who embraces stoking the fires of fear.
What I learned in working with organizations, was that fear must be driven out, for any organization to achieve excellence. What I also found, was that many senior executives only knew how to lead from that “fear” model. They thought it “kept people on their toes”, or it “kept people in line”, or it simply got people to work harder. All of that was false, but it was a way to maintain an illusion of control.
What does running any organization with fear, get for you? Fear gets people to shut down and “circle the wagons” to find who is on our side and who is not. Fear creates separation, just when the performance of the organization needs cooperation. Fear pits people against one another.
Fear drives out facts. When people are working from fear, they tend to shade information in ways that protect them or “prove” them to be right. Being “wrong” in a fearful place puts you at risk. Hiding negative information becomes the mode of operation. Poor outcomes only get revealed when things get to a crisis. Then it may be too late to fix the problem.
Fear prevents trying new things and new ideas. No one wants to fail in a fear based system, that makes you too vulnerable. Traditional ways are held onto more and more tightly, giving some sense of safety. And if the system is in jeopardy, holding to past ways that got you into the problem, is a sure way to kill the system. But, fear blinds us to this reality.
Fear fosters blame, instead of understanding. When we are afraid, we want to find a source for that fear, and blaming others is the easy way out. We like to pretend we had no part in this issue, and want to put blame on “those others” who are not in our group. It is much easier to make up a “cause and effect” based on opinion, than to gather facts and understanding of how things operate. And, then to defend our opinions as facts!
Fear is de-energizing. That is why I think people turn their fear into anger, to find energy to fight against all that evil out there. Otherwise, depression sets in. But that is a no-win game, since all the different factions are using their fear to generate anger, and that anger creates reactive anger in others. The game goes on and on.
The essence of all this is from Dr. Deming, one of the fathers of the quality movement (now we know it as Six Sigma). It is why President Roosevelt said at the beginning of the depression, that “all we have to fear, is fear itself”. Fear is the great enemy of community and unity and excellence. Facing our fear, remembering that our imagined fearful future, is simply that, imagined. Dropping our fear, gives us clarity and empathy.
Living in fear in any aspect of your life, is to diminish that living. If you are in a state of anger, look and find the fear. Let go of the fear, and show up with a new clarity. Then act with that clarity and without anger. Tlane 3/8/17
Fear blinds all to the reality of the situation. It leads to “group think” and often times disastrous consequences.