The Importance of Doing the Things that Scare You

Halloween is here in the US, and we have been inundated with all the movies, store displays, and various marketing messages about things that are supposed to scare us. As I think about this holiday and all things “frightening” – I have been considering how that applies to the workplace. It’s interesting, fear is often perceived to be a negative emotion that holds people back from reaching their full career potential. The world makes us believe that fear is at best, unprofessional and unproductive and at its worst that it could adversely affect one’s career and development. However, fear is inevitable. There is no courage without fear. When employees are only tasked with responsibilities that they feel comfortable accomplishing, they are missing out on the unique opportunity to lean into the unknown and develop the necessary skills to make brave decisions in the future. After all, it is often the things that scare us the most that provide the most value later on down the road.

As I write this, I am on my way to the Little Pink Book’s 15th Anniversary Fall Empowerment Lunch. The theme of the gathering is "Fighting Fear" and I cannot help but think about the situations I was in over the course of my career that may have been scary or unprecedented at the time, but ended up allowing me to cultivate skills that helped me grow as a leader, employee, and person. Potentially frightening situations like jumping in to client projects that were foreign to me, or getting the opportunity to lead teams where I was for SURE not the most knowledgeable, or even the everyday terror (and joy!) of raising a family. In each of these scenarios and many, many more, I have found fear to be a familiar and, dare I say, welcome presence in my professional life. But I have to admit that I would not have been able to conquer these challenges without harnessing it and turning it into courage and bravery.

I believe that creating a real impact does not come without making difficult decisions, and as leaders, we must encourage our employees to do the things that scare them, just as we did, to achieve success, even if it means working a little harder or even making a mistake. When you come to a point in your career where you look at your to-do list and know how to accomplish every single thing on it with ease, something has gone wrong.

So, on this Halloween, I would like to offer a few suggestions on how one might practice conquering fear productively:

• Offer to take on a communications role that may be outside of your comfort zone. It is said that more people would rather be the subject of a memorial service than publicly speak at it - and while I don't know if that's entirely true, I understand that many people are fearful of communication. I suggest that this is an opportunity to conquer that fear and volunteering to act as a communications liaison to solve a problem will set you apart as a team member and allow you to better understand every aspect of your project or department. Of course, I also encourage lots of practice and being completely prepared but consider how you might grow your career by always being the one to volunteer to communicate - the one to write up the findings, present the outcomes, lead the discussion, etc. 
•  Seek out educational courses to boost skills like tech-savviness. By taking a course in a previously uncharted territory like new a technology or social media, you will acquire new skills that will be useful long after the fear of venturing outside your comfort zone subsides. For me, earlier in my career - I took an online writing course, graded by a professor (yikes) as my writing was not quite where it needed to be for my career. I took my own advice (see above) and I volunteered for every writing assignment I could find. Similarly, when I realized I needed to branch out from my math and finance background and venture into new areas, I signed up for a network design class. Once I got over the idea that they were speaking a foreign language, I sought to push my boundaries and learn as much as I could.
•  Volunteer for high-profile stretch assignments. Raising your hand for an assignment you might not normally be considered for can seem daunting, but it can also present a unique opportunity to dig into skills you may not have realized you had. Plus, sometimes the most impressive thing you can do in the workplace is simply asking for help.
•  Collaborate with other teams to diversify your skills and network. Employees that can work closely with teams outside of their immediate network are more dynamic and often receive more engaging assignments as a result. It’s also important to combat the ‘mini-me phenomena’, which occurs when everyone in your network, including your sponsors, look and talk exactly like you. And strengthening your network will never be a bad thing.

Fear can act as the driving force for professional growth and helps identify new opportunities for success. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” So, consider adding to your bag of "tricks" - tackle that intimidating assignment. Raise your hand. Learn a new skill. Speak up for your colleagues. You never know how it may help you later in your career. It may be just the “treat” you need this Halloween.