How to Move Forward When You Feel Frozen

Fear is manifesting itself in a wide range of ways in corporate hallways and virtual channels. Many companies are preparing for continued economic uncertainty by tightening compensation. Managers hesitate to give tough feedback, concerned that overstressed employees might flee. Individuals remain frozen in their existing processes and routines, too fearful to offer audacious ideas because uncertainty about the future makes them afraid to think big.

Here are four shifts in thinking to confront and tackle the manifestations of fear at work so employees can move from paralysis to action.

FROM SCARCITY TO ABUNDANCE.

Many executives are afraid there won’t be enough: not enough employees, customers, money — fill in the blank. As a result, they cinch belts and squelch innovation. A mindset of scarcity inhibits expansive, innovative thinking.

To tackle this type of fear, try this exercise. Create two columns on a sheet of paper. List the items that are diminishing or scarce in one column, such as budget cuts and attrition figures. In the second column, list the items that are stable, such as the strengths of your team or existing infrastructure and processes you leverage. This exercise positions fears versus facts in a visible way. What evidence do you have of scarcity, and where have you found abundance?

FROM CLOSING IN TO OPENING UP.

Remote work has expanded our horizons, allowing collaborations spanning the globe. Unfortunately, because collaborating across locations — often asynchronously — can be more time consuming and meeting intensive than in-person work, it’s easy for us to prioritize our relationships with those we work with most closely. That inward focus keeps us from seizing remote work’s opportunity for diversity.

But an inward focus also breeds fear of the outside, of the less familiar or familial. To combat this, consider gradual exposure. What’s one thing you can do this week to step beyond your usual perimeters? Experiment with where you can involve one or two different people here and there to widen your scope of interaction.

FROM FREEZING TO MOVING.

When we fear consequences, we may think no action is the best action. But not making a choice is, in itself, a choice. If stasis stymies progress, then movement unblocks it. Start small. Instead of ignoring the requests to make a decision, assign resources or launch a project, identify one next step to get moving.

FROM FRENZIED TO FACING OUR FEARS.

When we’re scared, we might spin up a frantic list of activities to avoid confronting our fear. Never before have we had to respond so diligently to every email, Slack, text or meeting invite. The more afraid we are, the more we retreat from what spooks us by believing we’re too busy to tackle it.

Instead, block 15 minutes on your calendar to shut down all messaging and busy work. Name the perceived nemesis you’re avoiding. Write down three columns: the worst-case scenario, the current situation and the best possible outcome. Then identify what would need to happen to result in each possibility.

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Anticipatory fear robs us of the present and of the choices we could make to carve out a better version of our work and ourselves. Instead of remaining frozen in place, follow strategies to look forward to — and shape — the future.