Discover the neuroscience behind the physical and emotional impact leaders can have on their teams by having positive celebrations and intelligent conversations.

1. ARE YOUR PEOPLE AFRAID? HOW TO
MINIMIZE FEAR AND MAXIMIZE TRUST
By
Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd)
Based on article of
Judith E. Glaser

2.  Discover the neuroscience behind the physical
and emotional impact leaders can have on their
teams by having positive celebrations and
intelligent conversations.

3. ARE YOUR PEOPLE AFRAID?
 It is not about being bully or a bad boss, or about the fear of being punished
for a well-thought-out plan or product launch that fails.
 But about something more visceral:
 anxiety caused by the concern that something drastic as mentioned
below will happen —
 layoff,
 firing,
 pay cut or
 demotion
 Everyone is somewhat fragile at the core.
 We secretly worry that tomorrow may be our last day.
 Uncertainty and volatility induce fear, and
 Fear
 impedes people from doing their best work.
 impacts our sense of identity and
 causes us to doubt our ability to achieve.

4. ARE YOUR PEOPLE AFRAID?
 Our biggest fear is
 the fear of failure in the eyes of others;
 failure to handle the challenges your organization is facing and to be perceived
as
 capable,
 valuable,
 powerful,
 smart, and
 poised.
 When we perceive the world through a lens of fear, we
 turn away from others
 rather than towards them for help.
 Our egos drive us to develop patterns of protection.
 Over time, we incorporate defensive behavior patterns into our daily rituals and
routines.
 When we perceive the world through a lens of fear we:
 • Move against others (fight)
 • Move away from others – (flight – avoid – freeze)
 • Move with others (give up/give in)
 Fear is a common but counterproductive response to uncertainty.
 When fear dominates, the creative brain shuts down.

5. C-IQ NEURO TIP: WHEN FEAR DOMINATES,
 When fear dominates,
 the primitive brain takes over,
 emitting cortisol and catecholamines—hormones released during emotional
or physical stress.
 These chemicals shut down the brain’s prefrontal cortex, or executive
functions, which enable
 sophisticated strategies,
 trust,
 integrity, and
 strategic thinking.
 Instead of responding intelligently and creatively to people and situations, we
 freeze,
 coming across as defensive.
 Appreciation and trust, on the other hand,
 elevats our ability to have a voice and partner for mutual success.
 minimize the impact of cortisol,
 enabling oxytocin, the bonding hormone, to flood the brain

6. 3 LEVEL OF CONVERSATION
 When we are living in Level I, we are focused more on “telling” people
what is on our minds;
 when we are living in Level II the focus is on “selling” people on what we
believe;
 By Perceiving the world through a lens of trust we develop patterns of
partnering with others , opens us
 to connect,
 to listen,
 to share and discover –
 We speak what is on our minds –
 we are generative, growing and co-creating with others called Level III
Conversations.
 When we are living in Level III we are open
 to learn,
 to engage in co-creating behaviors with others, and
 open to influence.
 Egos are set aside.
 We adapt,
 we are agile,
 we are open to positive influence, and
 willing to change our minds.

7. LEVEL III..
 Most of all,
 we minimize judgment and maximize appreciation,
 helping others to bring their “best selves” to work every
day.
 When we are living in Level III Conversations,
 we are ready to share what is on our minds and to
discover what is on other’s minds;
 we have courage to speak our voice, and extend the
same to others.
 We partner, collaborate and co-create for mutual
success.

8. ELIMINATING FEAR AND MAKING “LEADERS IN THEIR
OWN RIGHT”
 So how can you, as a leader, eliminate fear and enable your employees to
develop their identity as “leaders in their own right”:
 1. Be present: Your people spend an inordinate amount of time studying
you.
 If you’re behind closed doors, don’t listen during conversations, spend a lot of
time reminiscing about the past, or talk about a future disconnected to the
present, people will read negative things into your actions and words.
 ACTION: To make yourself present, open yourself up by tuning into
relationships before tasks.
 Have a talk you didn’t plan on with a staffer or colleague.
 Handle a project that went off schedule when an employee’s confusion
interfered with your grandiosity. Welcome to life in the big city.
 Business is about people. It’s about your relationships with others.
 2. Provide context in every communication: A picture with a frame
becomes a different picture.
 Without background, fear is elevated by confusion and uncertainty.
 A rapidly growing technology company with sales over $1 billion.
 The CFO, in anticipation of this growth, told his staff: “Go out and hire your
replacement.”
 He thought his message was clear: “I want you to hire someone capable
of filling your shoes because with all this growth—and how wonderful
you all are—I anticipate promoting each of you.”

9. ELIMINATING FEAR AND MAKING “LEADERS IN THEIR
OWN RIGHT”
 His staff heard and understood: “Hire your replacement because none of
you are good enough and will be fired soon.”
 Not surprisingly, morale and performance suffered.
 On learning his mistake called a meeting to explain that he wanted them to
go out and search for their own replacements to make it easier for him
to promote them when the time was right.
 ACTION: Putting the statement in this context made people feel good about
themselves and the company, and more secure about their role in the growth
process.
 Not surprisingly, fear receded and performance improved.
 3. Tell people where they stand: As leaders, we resist doing this because
we fear
 broken relationships,
 feelings of rejection, and
 messes we can’t fix.
 So we don’t raise certain issues.

10. ELIMINATING FEAR AND MAKING “LEADERS IN THEIR
OWN RIGHT”
 Yet people must know where they stand.
 Once they know, they often discover their imagined fears were far worse
than reality.
 When we live in fear,
 we withdraw,
 build our own story of reality,
 imagine others are out to get us, and
 react accordingly.
 We stop turning to others for help and stop taking feedback and advice from
them .
 ACTION: Set up time with people to calibrate on what they are doing and how.
 This doesn’t mean telling them what they are doing “wrong.”
 This means providing them with quality calibration to move forward with success.
 This means guiding them to develop their ability to experiment, and take new steps to
achieve a goal.
 This makes people feel good about themselves and more secure about their role
within the company.
 Not surprisingly, fear recedes and performance levels improve.
 Rather than feeling judged they feel appreciated.

11. ELIMINATING FEAR AND MAKING “LEADERS IN THEIR
OWN RIGHT”
 4. Use honesty at all times: No one likes to tell the truth when it hurts
someone.
 So we fudge.
 However, when the truth finally surfaces, the impact is then twice as bad.
 Always tell the truth—tactfully and within the appropriate context, not spin.
 Don’t make a situation sound better than it is, even if you can.
 ACTION: As a leader, your greatest resource is a high-performing team.
 If you are honest, you’ll admit there are times when employees are not
producing their best work.
 Check to see if fear is one reason.
 Then have the courage to address concerns with open, honest, non-
judgmental conversations – shaped by the intention to move forward and
support the person’s success.
 When you speak with candor and caring you minimize fear and maximize
trust.
 Step into Level III Conversations and move from stagnation to driving
transformation for mutual success
 Join Judith's Complimentary Conversational Intelligence for Coaches
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