• Less than two-thirds of the sampled employees (60%) said that they understand the measures used to evaluate their performance
• Even fewer sampled employees (57%) thought that their performance was rated fairly
• Less than half (47%) said that their managers clearly expressed goals and assignments
• Only about two-fifths of the sample (42%) reported regular, timely performance reviews
• Even fewer (39%) reported that their performance review was helpful in improving their on-the-job performance

With less-than-helpful reviews, that seem arbitrary and not effective for improving performance (if they happen at all); it is no surprise that appraisals are not thought of as a value-added process at many organizations.

Performance reviews don't have to be a painful process. They are meant to faciliate growth.

What are some ways to make your reviews have more impact, going against the norm?  If you are still reading this you are probably the type of leader who recognizes the value of useful feedback.  Not just feedback for the sake of feedback, but feedback that is really beneficial in helping someone know where they stand and how to improve.  Here are some tips and best practices to provide impactful feedback:

1. Useful: Ensure the feedback you provided is useful by following the Keep, Start, Stop format.

• Keep – consider what this person does that makes him or her effective.  Use positive reinforcement and encourage them to find other ways to utilize this strength.
• Start – what does this person not do today that they could consider to become more effective?
• Stop – What behaviors do they engage in that get in their way of being successful?  What could you encourage them to refrain from doing to be more valuable?

2. Get Specific: Both positive and developmental feedback that is too vague cannot be helpful in changing behavior.  What exactly did you see, hear or experience?  What about others?  Avoid labels or generalities.  The more recent the feedback, the better.

3. Show Impact: An easy formula to remember for providing feedback with impact is to refer to the performance standard and compare it with the actual performance.  If the performance met or exceeded the standard, this is a great time to recognize it.  If this is a situation where the performance fell below the standard, discuss that gap.  Take time to explain the impact of the gap.  Do this in terms of what is important to the team member.  Perhaps a career goal they have articulated to you, a potential promotion, bonus, objective attainment, stronger team or working relationship.

4. Actionable:  Engage the person to discuss what actions can be taken to improve.  Work as a two-person team to discuss ideas and come up with a plan to address the issue.  Ultimately, they own it, but you can be a useful resource.  Partner with them for improved performance.

These characteristics of feedback will keep you on the right track to successful performance conversations.  Knowing this, there are still many people who shy away from difficult conversations and feedback that is challenging or developmental.  Keep in mind that you may have information that will truly make an impact in helping this person grow and achieve his or her goals.  You are doing the person a disservice by not being straight with them.  Certainly doing this in a kind manner while being candid is essential and can make an impact for improving performance.

Even though almost 50% of people who make new years resolutions do break them in the first 6 months, research shows that making resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t.  So why not improve your odds at making a change and explicitly define one goal that will affect you, your business, your customers, employees and your competition in 2012.  What resolution has this 5-fold effect?

RESOLUTION:

Focus on CONNECTING with your customers & improving their

EXPERIENCE with your organization

THE RESULT BOOST:

 1) Retention 2) Sales 3) Team morale 4) Gain competitive advantage

5) Your peace of mind because your business is founded on rock-solid customer relationships

You may not be able to influence the national economic forecast or consumer confidence index – but you can impact the confidence your customers have in your team’s capabilities, reliability, quality and commitment to their business.

Other options for improving profitability & gaining competitive advantage are: 1) lowering prices – not very profitable and 2) improving product quality, which can take substantial time and money.  The fastest and most cost-effective way to impact the bottom line & differentiate your business is to focus on improving your relationships with your customers & boosting the number of positive experiences they have working with your organization.

FOCUS ON PEOPLE – NOT NUMBERS

The most important aspect of this resolution is helping your team learn how to move from concentrating on customer service or satisfaction, and focus on really connecting with customers & improving their experiences when working with your team.  They are different goals.  Let’s look at the definitions of each:

Service  [sur-vis]

a. an act of helpful activity

b. to aid or be useful

Connect  [kuh-nekt]

a. to join or unite

b. to relate to or be in harmony with another person, or one’s work

Given the choice would you rather simply provide a helpful activity, aid & be useful to your customers, or be joined or united and relate & be in harmony with them?  If your customer feels like you “get it” and are tuned in to their business, understand their goals, pain points & find solutions to their needs – they will feel a connection with your organization, as opposed to simply serviced or satisfied.

Now no one is saying you shouldn’t measure the resulting improvements with customer relationships in some way, but if there is too high a focus on” ratings”, then it is easy for it to become more about achieving a minimum level in satisfaction, rather than becoming tuned in and focused on understanding your customer’s business, their needs & how to solve their problems.  Let’s face it – people either feel like someone “gets it” or they don’t – there isn’t a sliding scale.  Who can walk away feeling confident about the job someone will do if they feel like they were only kind of understood?  From this customer perspective, on a scale from 1 to 10 – you are either a 10 or a 1, there’s no in between.

person through of as savvy and very successful at relating to other people, finding ways to accomplish their goals.  Maybe you have referred to that kind of person as “street smart” or “good at building relationships”.

In the last 15 years the term Emotional Intelligence has surfaced.  Very much like having an IQ (intelligence quotient) as it is measured; several models of Emotional Intelligence or EQ have come onto the scene in business.  One of the grandfathers of the term Daniel Goleman identified the five “domains” of EQ as:

• Knowing your emotions.
• Managing your own emotions.
• Motivating yourself.
• Recognizing and understanding other people’s emotions.
• Managing relationships, i.e., managing the emotions of others.

Leaders and companies across industries are acknowledging the importance of this skill set so much so that it is consistently trumping other skills for hiring and promotional decisions.  Many successful leaders swear by the practice of “hiring for attitude”.  What they are really hiring for is emotional intelligence.
CareerBuilder.com commissioned a poll this year and found that more than 70 percent of employers say they value emotional intelligence over workers’ intellectual ability or IQ.
The jobs site’s survey also found that in this post-recession era that more than a third of employers place greater emphasis on hiring and promoting people who have high emotional intelligence quotients, or EQ.
Further, CareerBuilder found that 61 percent of employers surveyed said they are more likely to promote workers with high emotional intelligence instead of candidates with a high IQ. What’s more, 59 percent of hiring managers said they wouldn’t hire someone with a high IQ but a low EQ.

 
“In a recovering economy, employers want people who can effectively make decisions in stressful situations and can empathize with the needs of their colleagues and clients,” Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder, said in a statement accompanying the release of the survey data.
“Technical competency and intelligence are important assets for every worker,” Haefner said. “[But] the competitive job market allows employers to look more closely at the intangible qualities that pay dividends down the road.”
If you are already convinced this is important for your personal career growth and success, how do you go about demonstrating Emotional Intelligence?  Some answers can be found in more detailed responses from over 2,600 private-sector hiring managers surveyed by Harris Interactive as part of the study CareerBuilder.com commissioned.
When asked why emotional intelligence is more important than high IQ, employers said employees with high emotional intelligence (in order of importance):

• Are more likely to stay calm under pressure
• Know how to resolve conflict effectively
• Are empathetic to their team members and react accordingly
• Lead by example
• Tend to make more thoughtful business decisions

Human resource managers and hiring managers assess candidates’ emotional intelligence by observing a variety of behaviors and qualities. The top responses from the survey were:

• Admitting and learning from mistakes
• Keeping emotions in check and having thoughtful discussions on tough issues
• Listening as much or more than they talk
• Taking criticism well
• Showing grace under pressure

In addition to thinking about how you can increase you own EQ by demonstrating the skills listed above, Aha! Leadership developed a multi-session series and workbook Leaders can use with their teams to strengthen working relationships.  The series was designed to provide a deeper insight about team members and simply start a dialogue.  Knowing the goals, motivation and ways your team perceives information is critical to successfully leading.  The biggest mistake we see leaders make is NOT taking time to better understand the people they work with.  “I am too busy” is often cited as a reason this does not happen.  “Our conversations are centered around solving business problems or dealing with fires.  When could I fit this in?”  The reality is having strong EQ skills is sure to circumvent a number of issues, thus saving everyone time in the long-run.

The question is …do they?

Did you know?

• 89% of managers believe employees quit their jobs for money.  Fact: only 12% leave for money. Most, actually quit because of their  relationship with their boss.

Source: 5 Languages of Appreciation

• Only 35% of Americans received recognition in the workplace last year (That means a staggering   65% of Americans didn’t receive even a thank you!).

  Source: Gallup Org.

• 2 to 1 Employees favor recognition from managers over coworkers.  In other words, your team wants you to notice them.

 Source: 5 Languages of Appreciation

When you show appreciation for the people on your team it improves their confidence and competence.

Here are three simple things to keep in mind when showing appreciation or recognizing someone for a job well done:

1.       Personalize it  – Find out what is personally motivating to the person you are recognizing and include that.  Avoid “one size fits all” and make the reward more meaningful.  When in doubt, ask!  Check out the book The 5 Languages of Appreciation by Gary Chapman. See Issue #161 of the Aha! Leadership Newsletter for a summary of 5 Languages of Appreciation. Not a subscriber? Sign up here!

2.       Be Timely — Try to provide recognition that is as close to the positive outcome or behavior you are trying to reinforce.  It loses power when too much time passes.

 
3.       Be Authentic — Point out in a genuine and specific way, what the person did that was positive.  What exactly did the person do that resulted in a successful outcome?  This is your opportunity to reinforce what went right.  Using colorful adjectives without meaning clouds the opportunity to perpetuate what is working.

This weeks’ leadership challenge…

Give thanks to those that you appreciate most!  You will be amazed by their reaction…

Let’s face it – no matter how much we plan for success and train our teams how to serve our customers with excellence, sometimes things are just going to go wrong.  Great leaders actually plan for things to go wrong. Sound crazy?  When things go wrong it can actually be a chance to capture a customer’s loyalty for good … if handled correctly.

Don’t miss these golden

opportunities!

1. Acknowledge & Expect Challenges

Even if you have developed a stellar team that values the customer & always keeps them top of mind, people make mistakes or imperfect decisions when faced with a challenge.  Let your team know that you understand this and that you need them to be transparent about it when it happens, so that you can leverage all available & reasonable resources to repair the problem. Time is often not on your side in these cases and reacting quickly can provide you with more options than if you wait. It also shows the customer that you are giving the situation priority & attention, so they can relax and trust that your team is on top of it and looking for solutions.  Make sure employees you are having challenges with are not in a position to bottle-neck your ability to respond in an effort to avoid another “black mark”.

2. Immediately Apologize to the Customer!

One of the most powerful and under utilized phrases is “I’m sorry”.  If you’ve messed up – or even if you haven’t but the customer thinks you did, teach your team to immediately respond to a concerned or upset customer with, “I’m so sorry – let’s figure this out!”  The customer is likely anticipating a fight – so let them “win” right off the bat & change the tone to one of cooperation.  Customers just want to know you’re interested in helping make it right if you need to.  Going on the defense, acting neutral or reciting “policy” creates an us versus them tone.  You can sort out who really screwed up later, but meanwhile the tone will be more collaborative, you will both be working together looking into what makes sense.

3. Keep the Big Picture in Mind

It’s so easy to get focused on the wrong things when a customer is pointing the finger.  Warn your team about these two common pitfalls:

-       Winning the battle & losing the war is an easy trap to fall into. You don’t have to capitulate to everything a customer demands – but when developing a solution it makes sense to take into account the entire relationship, their history with you, how large a footprint this perceived problem will make in their organization, and the probability that the real story will be understood as it spreads.

-       Focusing on “my job” and losing sight of what makes sense for the customer and your relationship, is a common and usually unintended trap your team can fall into.  If a problem is blocking them from completing one of their responsibilities the natural tendency may be to focus on the completion of task because that is their “job”.  Reinforce that their ultimate job is to do what is right for the customer as well as making sense to your organization.

Instead work with your team to:

-       React how they would want someone to if they were in the same situation and they believed they were right.

-       Talk about & emphasize what makes sense. 

-       Remember: refunds & guarantees may be necessary and fair – a good start – but they don’t fix relationships, people do.

4. Develop a formal action plan

Account for problem situations with customers and develop a procedure for moving these situations out of the normal process, and funneling them into one that provides for manual handling, human contact, and quick approval for solutions that are developed.  Remember that acting swiftly usually provides you with more options for fixing what is wrong.

5. Provide Tools

Most people really care, want to connect with the customer & do the right thing.  But they don’t always naturally know how to communicate effectively. It’s just not their expertise or strength.  You can help them by providing a way to learn these skills.

Learning what to say, and how to talk to an upset or unhappy customer is crucial.  Providing your team with tools can be as simple as teaching them how & when to use powerful language & caring phrases to elicit information from a customer, like “Can you help me understand ..?”  Remind them that if the customer is unable to tell them what they do want, your employee can take the information about what is wrong & that they don’t want, and consider options for simply doing the opposite.

6. Prepare & Practice

For a lot of people it’s a long way from their brain to their mouth. Knowing something in your head, is different than actually articulating it and expressing it out of your mouth – especially if their dealing with an upset customer.  The best way for your team to become good at it is to practice what to say and how to say.  It’s also important to remind them that even though it may feel like it’s personal when a customer is expressing themselves angrily, it’s really not. Teach them to take the emotion out of it, or pretend that the customer is not angry, but rather sad & asking them for help.

Where’s the golden opportunity in all of this?  Sadly, doing the right thing isn’t common enough in today’s world and many organizations focus on minimizing their monetary losses rather than doing the right thing.  Can you think of a time when a company you were doing business with messed something up badly, but then willingly did what it took to make it right?  What kind of feeling did you have about that organization at the end of the day?  How loyal are you to them now?  How many people did you tell the story to?  Can you think of a better way to distinguish your business and differentiate from the competition?

                                             The Big (Little) Ideas:

Take on one of the challenges below for the next week and see how it feels. Your stress levels should see an immediate improvement.

1. Seek and destroy.Seriously… this is the secret to reducing stress. Find out the things that you know cause you unnecessary stress, and eliminate them before the become a problem. Don’t like your cell phone buzzing every 2 minutes with a new email? Turn off the notifications.
2. Find more positive coping mechanisms. If you are like most people, your coping mechanisms tend to be on the unhealthy side – the drink after work, the extra helping of potatoes at dinner, or thecigarette over the lunch hour. Replace those negative copingmechanisms with positive ones – take a walk, or even just a few deep breathes make a big difference.
3. Keep to-do lists. Yes, you’ve heard this before, right? However, the cold hard truth is that people who keep to-do lists get more done.
4. Train yourself to be calm.There are people in the world who can remain calm under the most stressful situations – most senior executives have mastered this skill.  A crazy example… think about lion tamers. They weren’t born with the ability to remain calm while starting death in the face, the were trained to. A little exercise and daily relaxation techniques will take you a long way to facing any situation with calm and grace.
5. Plan your day. First thing in the morning take just a few minute planning your day will help you feel in control and get more done. Pick the 5 things that you must get done each day and do them. You will be amazed at how much more productive your day will be.
6. Plan your life. B.F. Skinner – the famous psychologist – maintained a 10-year planner. You might start with a shorter time frame, but these plans really can help you feel more in control of your destiny, which means less stress.

Don't let stress bog you down, take control of your health.

Why It Matters?

We all face stress. Almost everybody I’ve ever met has at some point complained about their lives being too stressful. The one and only thing you can do to make your life less stressful is to get better at dealing with stressful situations. They saythat the most hardest thing to manage in business is yourself. Keeping your stress level down will help you manage yourself so that you can get to important stuff — managing your business effectively.

Tools: Apply these to your business and life.

Take on one of the challenges above for the next week and see how it feels. Your stress levels should see an immediate improvement.

Turn off your auto email notification
I did this a week ago and I truly can’t believe how much time this saved me! Research says that we waste 64 seconds on every notification that we receive… Take control and turn off email notifications.

Click here for easy instructions on how to turn off your email notifications.

Share document using Dropbox
Stop emailing versions of documents back and forth. Instead share documents using the “cloud”. Dropbox is a great tool…learn more by going to dropbox.com.

Learn to text…vs. leaving a Voice-mail
If you don’t text yet… learn. It’s easy and great for sending short quick messages to your family.  It’s much easier than leaving a voice mail.

Aha! Leadership wanted to turn this discussion towards, what leaders should do to be successful.  We asked you the question: What is the most impactful thing a person can do to successfully lead?  Sixteen of our readers responded to the call, here is what you said:

Over half of responses cited trust and integrity as being most important.  One reader put it like this, “Have integrity and care about the organization, the people it serves, and the employees.”  Almost half of the responses in this category mentioned the idea of leading by example.   Nothing takes the wind out of the sails more than the “Do as I say, not as I do” philosophy of leadership.  You can see it sink morale and turn a team cynical.  You may have experienced this at some point, for example, a leader who slashed the budget in the name of cost-cutting and then made some expensive, perhaps unnecessary purchases.  The leader who talked up the idea of work ethic and charging hard, but did the bare minimum to get by on the job.  The examples are endless.

How refreshing and impactful to see a leader who understands how to walk their talk!  One reader shared this philosophy, “Don’t ask someone to do something that you would not do yourself.”  Trust workshops are highly sought after in Aha! Leadership’s Practice.   Many leaders understand this and want to make sure they emulate trust building behaviors with their teams and in their organizations.

The next highest concentration of responses was around valuing and caring for the people under your leadership at over 18%.  Just over 10% of responses were about empowerment of the team members.  Two additional responses that were hard to categorize elsewhere were about:

1) ensuring as leaders we have humility and vulnerability;

and 2) listening and providing appropriate guidance/direction.

Trust and teamwork are cornerstones of successful businesses.

Hearing people’s candid responses to help leaders become more effective is so valuable to those reading this article.  Thank you.  There are no hidden agendas, people we are trying to please or impress, just an honest answers to help us get better.  Let’s not allow this advice to go past us without some reflection.  How can you take a step to improve your leadership?  What will you do after reading this to make a difference in your leadership?

Although mistakes can complicate your job; they are an excellent way to learn crucial lessons.

This Harvard Business Publishing video asked business and thought leaders across the map what is the biggest mistake a leader can make.  Watch the video to find out what executives from Google, Harvard University, Morgan Stanley and other organizations have to say about the topic.

Video: Harvard Business Publishing: The Biggest Mistake a Leader Can Make

With all the variety of ways to damage one’s ability to lead, we can take lessons of experience from these leadership mistakes: Learn from them, keep ourselves in check and avoid making these mistakes.  We have all experienced or noted leaders who taught us what not to do.

Of course, we learn many traits and characteristics to emulate from strong and effective leaders as well: what to do.  It is worthwhile to flip the question Harvard asked and explore what is the most impactful thing a person can do to successfully lead?  We are asking you to weigh in on this topic, with a simple straightforward answer to this question.  It will take less than 2 minutes. Aha! Leadership Survey – Impactful Leadership

In Aha! Leadership’s next newsletter, we’ll share a summary of responses to this question and explore what to emulate in successful leaders.

My fear was swimming.  This was not a crippling fear of water; I could get in a wading pool…I could ride in a boat; fly over water in an airplane, no problem.   This was not life altering stuff.   I simply avoided swimming in lakes and anywhere I could not touch the bottom, while keeping my head above the water.  Life never called for me to have that skill, and let’s just say after a couple “bad experiences” as a kid in lakes, I had found my place in life on dry land.
After a couple of friends encouraged me to sign up for a triathlon, I decided it was time to get past this issue for the sake of reaching a fitness goal and knocking something off the bucket list.  Here is a look at how I used the methods mentioned last time to overcome fear:

Look for small, safe ways to face your fears
First and foremost, I knew what seemed like a huge step for me, may look like a small step to someone else.  At first, external benchmarks matter less when you are getting past your own fear.  Initially, make this about doing your personal best, worrying less about someone else.  Following this logic, I signed up for a mini-sprint; pretty much the shortest distance you can swim in a triathlon, 400 meters.  Having talked to several past participants, I learned the atmosphere was really supportive.  There would be plenty of others in the water, lots of people in boats along the way, water noodles to take a rest and even buoys to grab a hold of if needed.  Pretty hard to drown with all that support!

Finding a mentor can help you you motivated and excited about your goals.

Find a mentor or coach

A friend of mine, an experienced tri-athlete, agreed to coach me on my swimming.  What a help it was to get training from someone who really knows what they are doing.  She gave such practical advice and even offered insight on mental preparation before the race.

Seek additional training/preparation
I made it a point to swim regularly in a recreation center pool.  I made sure I could go the distance in a safe environment, where I could always stand up if I needed a break.  I was surprised how quickly I worked up to the 16 lap distance needed to accomplish the swim.

Replace some negative associations you have about the fear with some positive ones
Frankly, after completing the 16 laps, I was still losing sleep over the thought of getting in the open water.  I knew I had to try it before race day and even considered pulling out of the whole thing all together.  Isn’t that crazy?  I had already proven that I could swim that distance in the pool.  Physically I knew I could do it.  Yet still, I was thinking about quitting due to fear.  I am sure I am not alone.  Thankfully the people who encouraged me to sign up for the triathlon in the first place, were planning a practice open swim a week before the race.

To the lake we went, one Saturday morning.  I remember walking down the path to the lake, thinking, I could drown.  There was no lifeguard on duty.  I didn’t expect my friends could pull me from the middle of the lake if I needed help.  Finally on the beach, I had to start slowly, feet in the water, moving forward with deep breaths.  My friends, who were much stronger swimmers, stayed beside me and made sure I was alright.  My head rarely submersed in the water, but I knew I was doing it!  Once I crossed the lake, I knew I could do it.  I took my time and gave myself many breaks, as I just couldn’t quite get my breathing under control.  By the end of the swim, my fear was replaced with confidence.  The supposed “non-swimmer” had just made it across a lake and back.  The race now seemed doable.  At least I knew I would not drown!

When do you bother facing your fears?
Do you think you need to tackle fear for overcoming fear’s sake?  I am not suggesting we all become adrenaline junkies.  Looking for the next big rush by jumping out of planes, bungee diving off bridges or taking up base-jumping from tall buildings.  Be honest with yourself.  Do you have a goal in life, a dream or aspiration that you have not pursued because of fear of failing?  Is there someone who needs straight-talk from you, but you hesitate with apprehension about what reaction your honest, well-intended feedback will produce?

Before making the decision to face a fear or situation you are hesitant about, ask yourself, “What is the upside of getting past this?”  If you can see clear benefits of taking steps to get past the fear that go beyond, the sake of doing it, let those possibilities fuel you to take action.

Professionally I had to get there too.  I was in a steady corporate job with a successful company, co-workers I enjoyed and enough credibility in the role I had to make it a really nice, comfortable ride.  However, I knew for the last couple of years I was not growing professionally.  I was very motivated by the notion of helping others as leaders, in their careers.  I was getting to do that directly less and less in my corporate job.  I felt compelled to make a change, one that has led me to a new chapter with Aha! Leadership.  Being totally honest, it was not without moments of fear of the unknown after 15 years in the corporate world.

The exhilaration of following a dream and a vision is exciting, no doubt.  In those moments of uncertainly, I remember the feeling at the finish line of the triathlon and thinking simply, “I did it”. Take those personal triumphs, overcoming fears, even small things and use that momentum to build upon further success.  Build success cycles out of a fear cycle.  As the quote of the week from Bill Cosby reminds us: “Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it.”

Imagine what advice your future 90-year-old self would want to offer you today.  Few people look back on their lives and say, I wish I had tried less, risked less, experienced less.  Is there really anything to be afraid of besides, holding yourself back?

A member on a team I hired years ago was almost paralyzed with fear at the thought of public speaking.  I worked with her on this skill and gave her many opportunities to practice.  This person was so eloquent, intelligent and poised one on one or in a small group.  Yet, put her in front of a room of 5 or more people and her voice quivered, hands trembled and eye contact was out the window.  I saw people make incorrect assumptions about her and her capabilities, based on how this fear manifested itself.  When she saw what was happening her confidence was shaken even further and her public speaking performance worsened.

She entered a cycle I call the Folly of Fear.   Here is how it plays out:

• You are nervous or afraid about something
• It negatively impacts your performance at it
• This causes your fear or nervousness to increase and further brings down your performance
• You avoid the situation that causes you to experience the fear, thus you alter your goals and aspirations to avoid certain situations
• You do a good job of avoiding the fear, but in the process may never be a situation to improve or overcome what scares you in the first place

The fear takes hold and builds upon itself.  Repeating steps 1-5.  This downward spiral happens and can be tough to turn around.  What are some things you can do to overcome your fears, or at least keep them from controlling or limiting you?  How do you break the Folly of Fear cycle?  Here are a few ideas:

Seek additional training/preparation
Some fears occur because the outcome of the situation is unknown.  If you have no idea what to expect, your tension level can go way up.  Gaining insight into how perform and what to do through training can dramatically improve your ability to succeed.   Increasing your knowledge base not only helps you know what to do, but builds confidence.  Look for training experiences that allow you to apply what you learn and get feedback.  Make sure it is as practical as possible.

Look for small, safe ways to face your fears
This makes sense.  If you are terrified of heights, do not overcome that fear but bungee jumping from a suspension bridge on a mountain gorge in Nepal.

Baby steps work much better than leaps of faith.

The term “baby steps” should apply here.  You don’t want to create a situation that could cause you to experience trauma while trying to overcome your fear.  Experiencing a trauma may result in a setback that would be even more difficult to overcome.

Remember that person who was afraid of public speaking?  She joined toastmasters and went to weekly meetings where she did small talks.  Sometimes there were only 3-4 people present.  Other times 10-20.  As she had no other contact with this group or relationship outside of the club for her, the stakes felt much lower than presenting to an executive team or group of leaders that decided the fate of her work.

Find a mentor or coach
Enlist the help of someone who excels at that which you fear.  Find out what specific actions they take to be successful.  You may be surprised that many of them had fears that needed to be overcome as well.  Ask lots of questions so you can understand how exactly they addressed learning and mastering the skill or activity.  You can engage a coach to make sure you are getting straight-talk and feedback while you are building your skills.

Replace some negative associations you have about the fear with some positive ones
Take the Folly of Fear cycle and turn it upside down.  When you look for small, safe ways to be in situations that cause you fear, you can actually start to have some positive experiences.  At a minimum you can find out that you can have some success at something new or something you are able to try that scares you.  Ask yourself, how can I make this a positive experience?  Perhaps you will reward yourself for the new accomplishment?  Finding ways to attach some positive associations to something you avoiding previously can be a major step in the right direction.

As a personal experiment, I decided to tackle something I feared recently.  I figured this would be a good idea, to eat my own cooking.  With coaching and developing others, I am constantly asking them to face their fears, do what makes them uncomfortable.  Challenging them to try something new and take risks all for the sake of improving as a leader, professional or person.   Had I forgotten what it was like to do something new that makes me nervous without a guaranteed successful outcome?  Next week, we’ll get into that experiment and the outcome.