|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
Doing It Right
Ego-Related Fear: Some fears are more subject to your conscious control than fears arising from the behaviors of others. These tend to revolve around issues with your ego. There are many disruptive ways ego-related fears intrude into how you work. These are burdens you can shed or alter if you have the will to do so. They’re distractions you can eliminate. On the other hand, if you don’t eliminate them, they will rise up to bite you at inopportune times---no doubt about it. Some ego-related fears:
These issues are dangerous because, unresolved, they replace the business idea as key factors influencing decision-making. Your personal fears color, if not dominate, your choices. Fear drives people to make decisions that are actually against their best interests. Lacking confidence in one’s ability to deal with difficult issues is an ego-related fear that leads some leaders to be secretive about their plans and intentions. In the near term, one can avoid the discomfort (risk, hassle, etc.) associated with dealing with difficult issues by ignoring them, but this simultaneously ensures long-term problems. How could avoiding critical issues lead to anything else? Fear leads family business owners to keep secrets. But all too often they keep secrets from the very people who should not be kept in the dark. While secrecy is the leader’s prerogative---that's why they’re called privately held companies, after all---it stifles access to vital information at all levels, with growth-limiting results. We don’t have to be painfully honest about hemorrhoids or a spastic colon, but hiding vital information about the business---your plans for the business, or critical business information that effects planning, finances, etc.---seriously reduces the likelihood that the causative fears will be effectively resolved. How can your organization be as effective and productive as possible when there are gaps in the vital information people need to make sound decisions? There are implications that unfold from this situation that are discussed in section 8 (see the Boyd Cycle). Read the following list of questions and consider the costs of fear-related secrets in terms of the synergy you’re trying to create in your business:
A young fellow once called me to ask advice about implementing his plans for the family business. He was going to feel his siblings out about developing a strategy to buy out their father. Dad was ready to retire. Son had the missing pieces of the equation that would really allow the business to take off, but Dad “doesn’t get it.” Of course he didn’t want Dad to know anything about his intentions until he had his plan together. He wanted to know how he could find out how much money Dad needed to walk away. How could he structure the deal so his siblings wouldn’t be jealous? (“Oh yeah, by the way, they don’t know I’m planning this either.”) He was serious. Fortunately, once we explored the logical implications of his proceeding in secrecy, and from an aggressive, adversarial stance, including the likely reactions of various family members, he was open to learning about a more collaborative process
Consider secrecy around any of these issues as a legitimate threat to the capability of the company to operate successfully in its business environment. The greater the number of issues that are surrounded by secrecy, the greater the threat to your business. They’re threats because resolving them requires that information be exchanged on a personal level, which if overwhelming, is avoided. It’s the fear of not being able to manage this information exchange, and the emotions that result, which creates the decision to harbor secrets. Problems come from the organizational “holes” that result in the information net. People can’t factor in or pass on what they don’t know. In the long term, your secrets start a ripple that runs through the entire company. If secrecy of this nature is an element of your leadership style, on some level, you are aware that your secrecy poses a potentially huge threat to your family and your business. (The fact that you haven’t dealt with some difficult issues indicates that there are fears associated with these questions for you.) Extrapolating a bit further, your fears indicate that you don’t have confidence in your ability to fix things. This fear then contributes to defensiveness, an adversarial stance, and inaction. The good news is that you can learn. You can develop the skills you need to create outcomes that are good for you and your business. You’ll find these discussed in the sections on organizational fitness and smart organizations. You will also get information in the commentaries found in the stories interspersed throughout this learning system, as well as in the leadership profile. Look at developing your warrior spirit for some specific recommendations for facing ego-related fears on a very personal level. If, in being honest with yourself, you discover that your personal fears and issues are having undesired impacts on your business (to say nothing of your life in general), you may want to consider finding a coach who can help you work through these issues. Quite often, these sorts of personal issues are better and more quickly resolved with the help of an objective, impartial professional.
|
| Back to Table of Contents | Continue to Procrastination |
</