It may seem counterintuitive but allowing yourself to be vulnerable can boost your leadership ... [+] confidence

Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. Especially self-doubt.

That view is a core belief of consultant and bestselling author Alan Weiss. Hes author ofFearless Leadership: Overcoming Reticence, Procrastination, and the Voices of Doubt Inside Your Head.

In a previous column, Alan talked about the role of fear in peoples procrastination and other self-defeating behaviors (see Lead Without Fear: Mindful Choices To Stamp Out Doubt). Here he continues the focus on mindset choices that produce the best results.

Rodger Dean Duncan:We seem to be living in an epidemic of political correctness. To what extent does a fear of violating someone elses notion of whats right jeopardize candor, creative thinking, and good performance?

Alan Weiss

Alan Weiss:Political correctness is actually censorship. Its a huge example of confirmation bias, where you only want to hear what you already believe in and not other opinions.

Self-editing (self-censoring) masks talent and creates great stress and guilt. I think the fear isnt so much the potential violation of someone elses rights or beliefs as it is the potential to be labled (youre a denier) and alienated, combined with the ability of social medial to make that viral today.

Duncan:What are the best ways that fearless leadership can be modeled for team members?

Weiss:it should be discussed with the understanding that people agree to be vulnerable. A lobster has to shed its shellits exoskeletonto grow, and is vulnerable in the process. No one knows, however, how long a lobster can live or how big it can grow.

Counterintuitively, vulnerability aids growth and the shedding of fears. Teams are inherent support systems (if theyre intelligently created) and consequently can provide huge comfort to the members. Everyone has to buy in to the idea of eliminating fear, and they have to call each other on it when it surfaces.

Duncan:The philosopher Santayana said A fanatic is someone who loses sight of his goals and consequently redoubles his efforts. How does that apply to the fear that seems to drive many workaholics? And how does that fear affect their performance?

Weiss:I admire Santayana, but workaholics arent really driven by fear in my opinion. They have an addiction and are driven by a need to gain power through obsessive work. You might make a case that they fear falling behind others production, but I think true workaholism is an addiction and an illness. There is a fear of others outperforming you or gaining favor in the eyes of others, and the resultant behavior is to try to prove youre working hard, which is really neither here nor there.

People who work smart arent fearful, but people who insist on working hard often are because they feel their value is in being present for long hours, not being present with good ideas in short time frames.

The rest is here:

How Being Vulnerable Can Help You Lead Without Fear - Forbes