Workplace Courage: Facing Your Fears
Workplace Courage Practice Two: Facing your fears
Courage: committing to do the right thing even when it is scary
I recently heard someone say that courage feels a lot like fear. I connected with that. The virtue of courage is like a muscle that has to be exercised over and over again.
I remember when I first became a corporate chaplain. There were so many new things to learn. No matter how much training I had received, I still had to “do the job”. It was scary. I kept remembering the line, “Do no harm”. I had to face my fears of failing, not getting it right, or not being accepted.
Even more scary has been facing my fears of sharing with others that I am disappointed or upset with them. I get a lump in my throat. My stomach gets in knots and my chest feels so heavy. My heart races and I feel anxious all over my body. I can be a people pleaser at times because I want to avoid these feelings. There is a thin line between courage and fear. Both stir up feelings of anxiety, pressure, and discomfort.
When it comes to the workplace, facing our fears can feel overwhelming. The Attachment Counseling Theory teaches that some, in moments of fear:
avoid (hide)
become aggressive (rage out)
or act assertively (face the fear with respect and courage)
My faith tradition is filled with passages of not being afraid and being courageous. In fact, some writers have found that the statement, “Do not be afraid” (or some derivative of it) is the most commanded statement in the Bible. This ancient text is still applicable for today’s challenges because…
Many of us struggle when it comes to facing our fears at work.
What are some examples of facing our fears in the workplace?
Sharing with a coworker that their approach was hurtful
Asking for time off for fear of retribution
Asking for a promotion or how to work towards one
Afraid to share an idea that could improve process
Picking sides when teams are split between loyalties and decisions
Keeping a team member accountable
Being honest with a manager about conduct
Sharing with Human Resources when there has been a misuse of power
Just reading the list raises my anxiety!!
On Gawd! No cap! 😂🤦🏽♂️🙏🏽❤️
Adam Grant says that there is a difference between relationship conflict and task conflict. Teams with more relationship conflict tend to have more personal feuds and don’t feel like they can challenge each other. They have more emotional clashes and animosity for each other. This results in poor performance and low morale. Task conflict, on the other hand, has more to do with debate surrounding ideas and opinions. Groups that have more task conflict may argue, debate on certain points, but overall agree that focus is on the task, not the relationship. Grant says,
“All in all, more than a hundred studies have examined conflict types in over eight thousand teams. A meta-analysis of those studies showed that relationship conflict is generally bad for performance, but some task conflict can be beneficial: it’s been linked to higher creativity and smarter choices.”
People who are courageous are passionate about their purposeful work and cultivating a healthy workplace culture. When we practice courage, it aligns us more towards who we long to be because the opposite of fear is love. And when we practice courage, we are practicing forms of love and common good.
When we don’t practice courage, we become resistant to change, often allowing others to dictate our workplace purpose and goals. We can become passive and avoidant, with fear continuing to win.
(NOTE: It is financially more costly when conflict is avoided. But when we develop healthy ways to engage in conflict, it helps everyone involved to grow!).
Reflect: What does fear tell you to do when you face an unwinnable situation? In contrast, what does it feel like to be courageous?
Practice: Facing your fears: Identify a fear and take small, deliberate steps to overcome it.