After some reflection I was left with 4 ideas:
- Are there types of fear?
- Should we or should we not be afraid?
- What is the impact of fear on my work?
- Is fear good or bad?
In neuroscience, fear is a complex response, mainly involving the cerebral amygdala, not to be confused with the amygdala located in the pharynx. The cerebral amygdala is the size of an almond and is located in the temporal lobe. When it identifies a threat, it gives us physical signals (changes in heart rate, breathing, sweating, dilation of the pupils, among others) and emotional signals (sensations such as anxiety, among others), thereby trying to protect us quickly in order to bring us back to our comfort zone.
Are there types of fear?
A classification that I use in my daily life is divided into adaptive and maladaptive fears.
Adaptive fears help us to avoid dangerous situations that put our safety at risk, for example: fear of heights, of poisonous animals, of fire, of walking down a dangerous street, of giving an estimated date, of using certain technology, among others.
The maladaptive ones occur in harmless situations and generate a constant fear that they will happen again, for example: phobias, generalised anxiety disorder (excessive worry), confidence when giving estimates.
Should we or should we not be afraid?
It is natural and part of our system, it has allowed us to evolve and exist to this day, considering that the amygdala blocks reasoning and decision making, it generally cannot be controlled.
What is the impact of fear at work?
Here are 5 areas where fear can have a positive and negative impact.
Meticulous
- It can lead to double-checking before delivering a job or making a decision, reducing the possibility of mistakes.
- Can lead to endless cycles of assurance, skewing schedules or biasing quality assurance so that errors are not reduced.
Productive
- In certain contexts, fear can generate stress (which we will discuss in another post) driving target achievement.
- It can generate high levels of stress, affecting the physical and mental health of co-workers.
Engaged
- Fear at an early stage of a project can generate adequate risk management to ensure success.
- It can generate detractors, generate uncertainty, generate noise, increase resistance to change and demotivate the team.
Communicator
- Fear of misunderstanding causes leaders to plan clearer communication with their team.
- Fear of not saying things breaks down communication with the team, does not allow to take advantage of all the points of view of the team.
Innovator
- You can identify opportunities for improvement, new products or customer dissatisfaction by knowing their fears and concerns.
- Fear of punishment or judgement can block creativity.
Is fear good or bad?
Being a natural reaction in us, it is very difficult not to feel fear, my opinion is that fear protects us and leads us to take actions in search of our continuity (work, professional, family, human among others). This superpower helps us to stay in our comfort zone or to learn.
And to close, consider that first of all you must know your fears, understand them, manage them, take into account that before attempting any ‘analytical/rational’ action you must hack the cerebral amygdala.
