How to prevent fear from controlling your decisions

In the current business environment, rapid decision-making driven by mandates like "do more with less" and "leverage artificial intelligence" can inadvertently foster impatience and fear-based leadership. This often leads to leaders prematurely dismissing employees as "lost causes," a behavior stemming from fear of losing control, fear of being wrong, or fear of emotional overwhelm, rather than strategic assessment. Such reactions can damage relationships and hinder organizational success by creating frustration and employee turnover. One strategy to counter this is to adopt a coaching approach when leaders fear losing control. For instance, a VP of sales, Ted, considered firing a new employee who missed sales targets for two consecutive months, fearing the employee's perceived poor work ethic would disrupt the team. Instead of immediate dismissal, the situation was reframed as an opportunity for Ted to coach the employee's direct manager on setting clear expectations, providing direct feedback, and actively managing performance, a process that requires time but builds a more resilient team.