Fear is a feeling that all entrepreneurs and business owners may experience at some point in their business life.
It could be fear of failure, losing time with their family, opportunity, financial security, and sometimes even fear of trusting their team and letting go of control.
We have heard from some business owners that one of their most common fears is the risk of a team member leaving and joining, or becoming a competitor after the business has invested so much time and money training the person to become fully qualified.
Fear of confrontation or stepping in when a situation has been caused by a team member is also a common fear, and a critical one.
It can lead to not correcting a team member when you should, and walking on eggshells around them, which can actually lead to worsening of the situation.
All fears are caused/triggered by different sources and some of them are the consequence of past experiences. However, learning and taking action is what we want to encourage you to do!
How do you overcome these feelings?
- Get the knowledge you need! If you find yourself getting careful, cautious or backing away from handling a situation with a team member, then you need to gain much more knowledge and training in the area of hiring and people management. We have a saying at Performia – Be tough in your hiring, so you don’t have to be tough with your team!
- Our Performance Hiring training, and Personality training are incredible and in our Personality workshop we teach you about understanding people and developing their potential. A must for every manager!
- Find a way to stay connected with your industry/business peers.
Having a community will make your process easier and often you will find someone who has been in the same situation as you. Did you know we have a community for business owners to share and ask questions? You can join it here! - Make informed decisions when hiring. Knowing past production, personality and cultural fit before any hire will make a huge difference for you and your team!
- Keep your projects updated and same for your goals and build your team with those who SHARE your vision.
- Be honest and communicate with your team regularly. When you need to correct your team, look at what they’ve done right, and correct them through training.
- Seek help and advice if needed! Being a “Business owner” is not a synonym for knowing everything. It usually means you’re a champion who was brave to go out and start something from nothing and now you’re on a mission! Smart business owners realise when they lack knowledge somewhere and will look to increase their knowledge. Companies like us will support you in the areas you might need extra help.
Remember, productivity, motivation, and creativity are important propellers for every business owner or entrepreneur. However, finding a way to overcome your fears is the right track to succeed, or at least what will help you to be more resilient and keep pushing through.
To conclude, we are all different when it comes to personality and it changes our approach to life, people, and how we do business.
If you find yourself being cautious around a topic, you simply need to learn more about it, and get out of doubt! We promise you it will get easier and you’ll never have the same fear again!
That’s why at Performia, we look at Performance FIRST, then we look at personality as an important step when building teams. When you understand people, you can understand them, like them, help them.