Leadeship brings with it a lot of pressures from the followers and other stakeholders.
Many times leaders feel lonely although they may be in the company of others .
Leaders go through a lot of stuff which at times they can’t share with followers or subordinates.The subordinates expect the leader to be strong always .
Life is not a linear graph.(Chaka 2023).Life happens even to leaders.
Some of the fears that leaders experience include the following :
1 .Fear of failure to meet organizational expectations .
2.Fear of rejection from the subordinates.
3.Fear of dismissal by the senior management.
4. Fear of failing the organization.
5.Fear of bad or negative publicity.
6.Fear of losing relevance and becoming redundant.
Sometimes a leader may show a brazen face before fellow workers yet internally he or she maybe experiencing emotional summersaults.(Chaka 2023).
The writer would like to suggest some ways that leaders may use to combat or minimize these fears :
1. Acknowledge that you can’t please everyone.
2.Refuse to be weighed down by the messianic syndrome .Only Christ is the Messiah ! ( Chaka 2023)
3. Find a safe environment where you can be alone and deal with your emotions .
4 .Look for someone senior to you in position not necessarily from your organization whom you can talk to and share your emotions .
5. Celebrate your seemingly small victories and mile stones.
6.Spend time with people who celebrate you .
7.When you are in the company of those who criticize you just tell yourself that they are entitled to their beliefs and you have no control over what they think about you.You have control over how you respond.
8. Don’t put your emotional health in the hands of other people .People will not hurt you without your consent !.
9. Continue to seek ways to improve and sharpen your leadership skills .
10. Attend leadership and capacity building workshops and seminars.
The writer Professor Elias Chakabwata is a leadership guru and President of Impact Training Institute.He can be contacted on 0732288687.
