Research suggests it's crucial for leaders to distinguish between fear of failure and fear of success. These fears can deter them from embracing challenges, interacting with people, or navigating certain situations. Some leaders may even completely deny their fears, which can hinder them from reaching their full potential. To safeguard themselves from fear, leaders may resort to self-handicapping.

What is self-handicapping?

Self-handicapping is a subconscious defense mechanism discovered by researchers in 1978. It involves individuals creating excuses or exerting less effort to prevent potential failure. This behavior has been extensively studied in fields like psychology, education, and sports, but less so in business management.

In business settings, self-handicapping may lead to detrimental effects for entire organizations. Insecure leadership can result in employee turnover, customer dissatisfaction, and a decline in company profits due to decreased trust and team motivation. Stressors such as time scarcity, and a lack of resources can trigger self-handicapping in leaders, limiting their potential by setting lower goals, avoiding responsibility, and reducing effort.

This behavior can also lead to avoidance of necessary discussions with employees or conflicts, negatively impacting team dynamics. Leaders often engage in self-handicapping to maintain a positive image and appear competent, thereby avoiding blame.

Given these potential impacts, researchers emphasize the importance for leaders to understand how self-handicapping affects both individuals and organizations, as well as their own professional success.

What distinguishes the fear of failure from the fear of success?

In my thesis, I initially aimed to explore how fear impacts leadership. Given the broad nature of this topic, it required a narrower focus. This led me to research indicating that 80-90% of startups fail within their first three years, marking the fear of failure as a significant concern for entrepreneurs. Though the primary causes are economic and demographic, psychological influences often receive less attention. The fear of failure can hinder leaders from performing necessary tasks, leading them to doubt their capabilities, delay crucial decisions, and evade risks that could spur innovation and growth. According to Freud's iceberg model, fear's roots extend deep into the subconscious, which guides our actions 98% of the time. Therefore, due to this unconscious influence, leaders may resort to self-handicapping to avoid failure and shield their insecurities.

The fear of success might seem contradictory, but it is as real and impactful as the fear of failure. Some leaders fear success because it brings additional responsibilities, expectations, and even envy from others. Success can also mean changes, which forces one out of their comfort zone, creating fear and insecurity about the unknown. Self-handicapping in the face of success fear can lead leaders to set lower goals for themselves or avoid decisions and actions that could lead to greater success.

How to detect self-handicapping and turn it to your advantage?

Studies have shown that a growth mindset, based on Carol Dweck's theory of mindset, helps reduce self-handicapping, making it crucial for leaders to understand that seeing their own abilities plays a significant role. In my thesis, a comprehensive analysis with 16 participants revealed that being aware of their fears and behaviors driven by self-handicapping is the first step towards overcoming them.

For leaders aspiring to advance their careers and serve as role models, identifying self-handicapping behaviors is crucial. To aid this process, I've created a practical 5-step strategy that requires leaders to self-reflect honestly and critically.

To begin, they must identify their goals. Following this, they should examine the thoughts that hinder their progress. They also need to explore how fear influences their work-related decisions and investigate instances where insecurity prevents action.

This strategy encourages leaders to self-reflect and identify obstacles to their success. Recognizing underlying fears allows them to make different decisions, leading to new outcomes. For example, during my master thesis research, one entrepreneur discovered a fear of success that had previously led her to avoid large projects, stunting her company's growth. After this revelation, she accepted the next large project, which is now expected to result in a 30% increase in turnover.

Ultimately, the success of leadership is closely tied to personal development. Facing fears, learning from them, and developing a growth mindset allow leaders not only to overcome self-handicapping but also to inspire their teams to do the same.