Fear is a natural human emotion, particularly when the stakes are high and include threats to health, safety, or our ability to financially support our families now or in the future. In true fight-or-flight situations, fear is critical to survival. Our adrenal glands kick in, ramping up the energy in our body to do what we need to survive.

As leaders, it’s critical that we allow and validate these natural emotions in ourselves and our team members. Organizations face a unique challenge in unpredictable times when fear is ever-present or evolves into a continuous undercurrent of anxiety that wears down the body and mind. Left unchecked, fear and anxiety deteriorate our higher-level thinking abilities, memory, and concentration. We diminish our capacity to think critically and solve problems creatively exactly when we need those abilities the most.