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Tuesday, May 4, 2021

Fear Paralyzes

5 Ways to Get Rid of the Fear

Last week we took a deep dive into the things that you do NOT owe your boss. So while we’re on the topic of bosses, let me ask you a question.

Are you scared of your boss? It appears that most WORK-RELATED fear has to do with some type of fear of the boss. When you work overtime, or when you rush something, or when you reply to an email during the weekend—is it possible that there is a subtle fear involved. you have a fear of your boss?

I’m not here to judge, but to tell you that I do the research and I know the FEAR is REAL. In fact, I talked about this in a short podcast episode. It’s normal and data actually shows that at least 1 in 4 people are afraid of being yelled at by their bosses.

Here are five tips to help you overcome this fear.

1. Don’t think it’s always you in the spotlight. It’s not always about you. If you have a boss that yells at people to try to intimidate them or motivate them… that says way more about your boss than it does you. Your boss might be problematic, that doesn’t mean that it’s your fault.

2. Acknowledge the situation. Try to think a little deeper and assess the situation. Are you really scared of the person your boss is? Or are you scared of getting fired? Or of just making mistakes and looking dumb? Is it possible that the actual issues doesn’t make your boss the enemy after all?

Seriously, think about it! What is really going on? What is the true source of the fear?

3. Think of your boss as an actual human. Especially focus on this during times where he or she is unpleasant. The people around you have their own set of struggles (just like you!). Inevitably that bleeds over from our personal lives to our work lives.

4. Provide value. Keep producing value, and your higher ups will notice. Period. Your production will matter more than your talk, your hopes, your thoughts, etc. Show up and prove that you can “bring it” even in the rough times.

5. Have a professional identity. Set boundaries between your personal life and professional life! We touched that last week, but you have to understand its importance. Set those boundaries and live by them.

Keep this in mind: being scared of your boss is going to get you nowhere. It will just affect your performance. Move past it using the five tips above. You really can grow beyond it.

Still struggling? Hit me up at rob@leadertribe.com.

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