A Leader’s Guide to Breaking Through Fear
Harnessing the Power of Emotion to Tap Our Greatest Potential
Fear is one of the most primal emotions humans experience — a needed built-in survival mechanism designed to protect us from perceived danger. Yet, throughout our lives, fear often shifts from protecting to paralyzing us. Fear of failure, rejection, or the unknown can limit our great potential. But what if we could reframe fear — not as an impenetrable barrier — but as a guide to where growth and achievement begin?
Leaders who transcend the ordinary — visionaries like Steve Jobs, Stacey Abrams and Elon Musk — share a common trait: They don’t allow fear to define their aspirational boundaries. They acknowledge it, even embrace it, as a sign that they are venturing into new, unexplored territory.
Fear: A Mental Construct, Not Reality
Psychologists like the late Dr. Susan Jeffers, author of the self-help bestseller Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, remind us that most fears are based on imagined outcomes, not actual threats. Fear feeds on uncertainty and thrives on “what if” scenarios. Jobs and Musk, for example, faced countless moments of uncertainty — launching products no one believed in, risking personal wealth, and challenging entrenched industry norms. They felt the fear but didn’t succumb to it. They used it as fuel.
This principle is supported by cognitive-behavioral research. Studies show that when people confront what they fear in controlled ways, they often experience less anxiety over time. In leadership, this means viewing fear as a challenge to be recognized and met, not avoided.
Fear signals that we are at the edge of our comfort zone — the border between what’s familiar and what could be. This is where growth happens. Consider Thomas Edison’s failures before inventing the lightbulb — his experiments failed thousands of times. Fear of repeated failure didn’t hold him back because he didn’t see these setbacks as defeat. He saw them as necessary learning steps toward success.
The same applies to leadership. Fear of delivering difficult feedback, saying no, making bold decisions, or taking career-defining risks is natural. But when we interpret fear as a signal for future potential, it can become a motivator rather than a full stop.
Facing Fear in Defining Moments
I’ve encountered fear many times throughout my life journey. Many defining moments came during my military service. In the footsteps of my father and uncles, I longed to serve. As a paratrooper and combat medic, I was thrust into situations far beyond my — or anyone’s — imagination and comfort zone. I faced deadly danger and accepted the enormous responsibility of caring for wounded comrades and enemy combatants under fire. There was no room for hesitation when called to act — fear had to be acknowledged but never allowed to dictate the next steps. In those intense moments, I learned that preparation, purpose, and persistence could override fear’s powerful voice and amplify the call to action.
Decades later, I faced a vastly different moment when I decided to leave one of the top-ranked health communications PR agencies — a secure, respected position — to join the relatively fledgling agency led by Peter Finn. Peter had a bold vision to create FINN Partners based on values such as working hard and playing nice, collaboration, diversity, and making a difference. His belief in creating something visionary with a heart and conscience, driven by purpose rather than profit alone, spoke to me. Not surprisingly, one of the seven agency values addresses confronting fear– “Take Risks.”
Walking away from stability into the unknown required confronting anxieties about career disruption and potential failure. Though it wasn’t the first time I had left a safe position for the unknown, “leaving the bird in the hand” still requires grit and imagination. Peter’s courage to build an agency defined by humanity and shared success inspired me. The result? I am part of something communally greater by suppressing the inner voice to stay put, accepting the hassles of starting from ground zero, and thinking beyond my comfort zone. None of that could have been achieved by playing it safe.
Fear of a Changing World
Many fear a future with AI taking command of economies and jobs. AI should augment, not replace, human capabilities — to help us implement our great ideas. This platform offers great potential to serve as an extension of our intellectual, experiential, and emotional capabilities. Face it, there is no turning back. Rather than succumbing to fear, this technological shift is also an invitation to hone our cognitive abilities and take the wheel of our futures.
Those who freeze in place rather than explore its possibilities will be racing to catch up to the early adapters. Make no mistake; big change — from the typewriter to AI — is scary and can crush enthusiasm for exploring new territory. But, consider the scarier possibility of being left behind.
Because I acknowledge fear — not as an unscalable wall but as a strong feeling, a reasonable warning — and see beyond the feeling, I can also imagine how to avoid falling off the cliff. This clarity enables me to chart navigational steps toward success. By reframing fear as a directional signal rather than a stop sign, leaders can shift focus from obstacles to opportunities, building a path forward even when uncertainty clouds the horizon.
How to Lead Beyond Fear
1. Acknowledge It: Recognize when fear is speaking. Awareness is the first step toward controlling its narrative.
2. Reframe It: Instead of seeing fear as a stop sign, see it as a green (or at least amber) light — a sign that you’re pushing boundaries and growing.
3. Act Through It: Take action despite feeling frightened. Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it is acting in its presence.
4. Learn from It: When fears become reality, extract lessons from the experience. Failures are often the most effective teachers. Edison’s famous maxim became his lifelong truism: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
The Benefit of Going Beyond Fear
Great leaders understand that fear is not the ultimate enemy — it’s stagnation. Steve Jobs faced ridicule for creating the iPhone. Elon Musk risked everything for Tesla and SpaceX when no one believed in his operational abilities. They each reframed fear from a barrier into a compass pointing toward meaningful achievement.
Among my great American heroes is Stacey Abrams. As the first Black woman to be named as a major party’s nominee for governor, Abrams persevered through adversity and, even in defeat, became a powerful voice in national politics. Her comment: “Defeating fear of otherness means knowing who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish and leveraging that otherness to our benefit,” speaks to my heart.
Perhaps the real danger is not fear itself — it is allowing this powerful emotion to set boundaries in our lives and abilities. Fear is a mirror reflecting what truly matters to us. Recognize, harness, and lead beyond because authentic leadership begins where fear ends.
