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Have you ever wondered why most managers know how to lead well but don’t act on that knowledge in their own work? The psychology of fear sheds some unsettling light on why this is so.
Learning vs. Development
There are many philosophies of learning, but none so pervasive as the academic model. The academic model of learning is focused on increasing one’s knowledge about a given topic, be it medicine, physics, history or leadership. This model is deeply embedded in our current approaches to development, from simple one-day seminars to MBA-style programs. Now don’t get me wrong, increasing one’s knowledge is a worthy and even noble endeavour. However, knowledge does not always change one’s actions.
Development goes beyond building knowledge about what to do, seeking instead to help people start doing what they know. It is primarily focused on motivating and persuading people to alter their behaviour rather than increasing their knowledge.
The Role of Fear In Motivating Behaviour Change
In a politically correct world, fear has become a dirty world. Yet, we feel fear for very good reasons. Emotionally intelligent educators understand fear motivates us to let go of the familiar and adopt new behaviours. In fact, eminent psychologist Robert Plutchik believes that we are hard-wired to feel fear so that we take action to prevent unwanted outcomes.
Of course, too much fear can be paralysing, and therefore unhelpful. Also, illogical fears can lead us to avoid situations we should embrace. Yet, social psychologists suggest that moderate levels of logical fear play a powerful role in changing people’s behaviour.
For fear to motivate behaviour change:
- People must genuinely believe that they are personally vulnerable to the threat (e.g., I will have a heart attack if I don’t lose weight).
- You should offer guidance in how to successfully deal with the threat at hand.
A Discussion
What does this all mean for leadership development? This is a relatively new area and we have much to learn. But, to get the discussion started, I offer a few points. People are more open to developing new ways of leading when they feel anxious or afraid. This is why research shows that certain key experiences (e.g., significant promotions, hardships) are more developmental than others. Organisations need to seize these naturally occurring events as windows of opportunity for significant development. Furthermore, leadership development programs need to be designed in ways that persuade people to change their behaviour rather than simply educating them about what good leaders do.
Of course, I do not believe that fear is the only ingredient in successful development. However, I do believe it is time to lift the politically correct lid and have an intelligent discussion about the value of fear in leadership development.
What do you think?
