Like No Other
Instead of the usual hopes, joys, and optimism year ending pieces that usually mark the season, let's dive into something a bit unconventional. A conquerable phobia called atychiphobia!
Derived from the Greek word "atyches," meaning "unfortunate," atychiphobia is the intense fear of failure. Now, don't get it confused with atelophobia, which is all about the fear of imperfection.
It can affect You!
Whether they realize it or not, atychiphobia affects many people. They could be your buddies, teachers, bosses, peers, CEOs, entrepreneurs, start-up founders. And, of course, even YOU as an OD professional. The major symptoms include a reluctance to try new ideas, systems, and or procedures; avoiding challenging tasks; hesitating to make decisions; low self-esteem and confidence; short attention span; and struggling to derive lessons from failure; goal depression to name a few. It may negatively affect how you performed at school or work, or interact with friends and family members. The fear often becomes self-fulfilling. For example, if you are scared of failing a test that you refuse to take the test, you may end up failing an entire class.
In 1969, David Watson and Ronald Friend introduced the fear of negative evaluation (FNE) [1] concept and a psychological test to assess atychiphobia. High FNE scores are associated with anxiousness, submissiveness, social avoidance, conformity, pro-social behavior, and social anxiety. The fear of failure can lead to emotional and psychological issues such as shame, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and low self-esteem.
Percolates in Organizations Too
Atychiphobia goes beyond just personal struggles. And manifests within organizations too. In fact, it becomes a serious concern for organizations struggling to do major changes in response to technology and competitive disruptions.
People grappling with atychiphobia might steer away from situations with potentials for failure, like job interviews, appraisals, or evaluations. They might also shy away from establishing relationships or fear of letting others down.
OD practitioners are not immune to it, especially during those moments of reflection, like the end of the year or monitoring milestones. As organizations look back on their performance, OD professionals consciously dodge (and sometimes, masterfully evade) questions such as: "What happened to the digital roadmap we crafted 3 years ago?" or "How about last year's performance-focused mentoring (or coaching) initiatives?" or the much-hyped but still uncharted AI learning pathway we discussed yesterday?
These change initiatives tend to be top-down, leadership-centric, and demand high co-ownership from the people who will eventually do or benefit from them. Note that failure to nurture a learning culture, guide the teams properly, and ingest well-intentioned change initiatives can lead to organizational setbacks, prolonged recovery period, and breed distrust in the leadership. The repercussions can create a lasting trauma that may take years to overcome.
Symptoms and Action Levers
Facing these queries without a clear, reasonable, and consistent "ready-to-fire" response can leave practitioners in a palpable feeling of anxiety. So here are 5 common symptoms and action guides for you to deal with atychiphobia in your organizations.
Symptom 1: Overemphasis on success metrics. Atychiphobia is evident when organizations obsessively focus on success metrics, stifling innovation and learning from setbacks. Revisit the Balanced Scorecard Approach, incorporating both success and failure metrics to foster resilience and a growth mindset.
Symptom 2: Avoidance of risks. Organizations gripped by Atychiphobia tend to avoid risks, hindering exploration of new opportunities. Foster a culture of informed risk-taking, encouraging open discussions about potential risks and ensuring decisions are based on a thorough understanding of opportunities and challenges. Common risk management strategies include: (a) avoidance; (b) acceptance; (c) mitigation; and (d) transferring risks.[2]
Symptom 3: Blame-storming culture. Atychiphobia leads to a blame culture, hindering creativity and eroding trust. Cultivate a safe-to-fail environment, emphasizing that mistakes are mere stepping stones to success and encouraging responsibility for actions.
Symptom 4: Resistance to change. Fear of the unknown results in resistance to change. Embrace and promote a growth mindset, facilitating a continuous learning and framing changes as a natural part of any organization’s survival and growth journey.
Symptom 5: Inadequate innovation. Atychiphobia stifles creativity and innovation due to risk aversion. Introduce and implement an innovation framework, dedicating time and resources for teams to explore new ideas and celebrating the process of innovation.
Indeed, by recognizing the symptoms and clicking on the key action levers, OD practitioners can transform the organizations’ fear of failure into a catalyst for success. Let's conquer atychiphobia! Embrace a new year filled with growth, innovation, and unparalleled success!
Let’s celebrate and toast to a fearless and resilient future for your organization.
NOTES
A thought of business failure can be paralyzing for many starters and leaders. It stops people in their tracks from executing their ideas, because of traumas from past failures or the fear of future failures.
Next issue will be on Jan 15. Watch for it!
[1] Source: Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_negative_evaluation
[2] Atiq ur Rehman, “Fear of Failure and Strategies to Cope with It,” an initiative of the Asian Centre for Organization Development (ACOD), September to October, 2015 Vol 1, Issue 6, Islamabad, Pakistan. Source:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282828056_ACOD_Management_insights_Fear_of_failure_and_strategies_to_cope_with_it.