Fear of failure

The single most universal internal block that supresses our growth is fear of failure, lack of confidence, self-doubt, and lack of self-belief

However, it is also true that in a safe environment people tend to tell the truth about themselves and when they do, it is the responsibility of the leaders to help them cope with the shortcomings. But building others self-belief demands that we release our desire to control them.

Now check this example: Children’s most memorable and exciting moments are often the first occasion on which they beat their parent or elders in a game of skill. And we as elders or parents sometimes just allow them to win, because we have that innate desire that our children should over take us and we be proud when they do.

Can we do the same with our subordinates? Can you allow them the happiness of winning by not pointing every mistake they make? Believe me, we can only gain, with their increased confidence, through their greater performance and from the satisfaction of watching them and helping them grow.

However, all too often we are afraid of losing our job, our authority, our credibility or our own self-belief.

Let us as manager grow first and then let our team flourish

Source: From the book Coaching for Performance