By Dr. Pedro Cortina, Managing Partner at the Innerland Institute
In our work with many organizations and leaders, we’ve noticed that there is probably no more corrosive and damaging thought to ourselves and to our teams than the thought “I will lose my job”.
When we ask leaders and team members how much time and energy they willingly (and unwillingly) invest in this thought, as well as in the other countless thoughts that naturally come with it, we tend to always get a consistent figure above 30%.
If 30% or more of our energy is invested in anticipating, projecting, evading, dreading and hoping not to lose our jobs, as well as the consequences around this (homelessness, mortgage, family, job market, reputation, etc.), then this means that we are only really there for ourselves and for the organization at 2/3 of our capacity.
How would our lives and our organizations look like if we were able to notice and transform this tendency to worry about losing our job into clarity, honesty, connection, commitment, and opportunities? Yes! We would suddenly find ourselves with an incredible and untapped productivity potential.
“Oh! Wait a minute!” You might say. “Thinking I could lose my job, or the fact that my employees think that they could lose their jobs is a good thing!” Well, really?
We may believe that supporting or entertaining the thought “I will lose my job” will somehow keep people doing their best and striving for their goals. We may also think that not entertaining the thought “I will lose my job” will result in lack of responsibility and chaos. On the contrary! We have already hired the best people we can find! We have already invested in them and we trust them! We all know that everyone will generally try to do the best they can because they matter to themselves, and the organization is an extension of that understanding. Of course, we will always have individuals that do not fit or perform at the level expected (3 to 5%), yet, should we sacrifice 30% of the potential, talent, and energy of the remaining 95% because of this? No math or model could support this.
The important question then is: How is it that we actually do it?
How do we reclaim the fear, apprehension, doubt, anxiety, loss of time, defensiveness, and doubt behind the thought ‘I will lose my job’? Well, we do so by allowing each of the members of your team to own and realize the actual cost of living with this fear through Inquiry-Based Coaching. Would you like to learn more? We will be happy to share! Stop by at innerland.com and connect with us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Pedro Cortina is the CEO & Managing Partner at the Innerland Institute www.innerland.com. He is an author, speaker, counselor, facilitator, trainer, transformation specialist and leadership consultant. He is the author of Curflexion: Living the Infinite Space of Being, a guide for moving away from our underlying human experience of separation and unfulfillment.
ABOUT THE INNERLAND INSTITUTE
In an age of intense business model disruption, our ability to consistently, reliably, or radically reframe our perceptional, organizational, and business assumptions is crucial to our continued success. This is what we do.
We specialize in working within the grounding realm of individuals, teams and organizations. This is the space where intangible internal impediments such as defeating beliefs, assumptions, mindset, preconceptions and blind spots can seriously get in the way of our passion, purpose, and direction.
Visit innerland.com to learn more