The Source of Fear, Insecurity, and Selfishness
Just a few examples of the things we tend to hold onto with a white knuckle grip that often causes us to lose the very things we’re trying to protect.
The problem rears its head when our obsession to protect and retain begins to inhibit us from what we give and how we lead. If you are over-protecting what you have received or earned to date, you are showing the signs of self-preservation.
If you are constantly over-asserting your authority or questioning others’ then you are likely displaying self-preservation in an attempt to ensure others see you a certain way and know you’re in charge. When you implement self-preservation like a shield around you, it actually does more harm to you as a leader than good. Here are just a few ways that such a knee-jerk response will undermine your influence and long-term leadership capacity:
1.) It drains a lot of energy and focus.
When the shields go up to preserve so does the non-verbal language and the cynicism based on fear.
2.) It makes people more defensive.
When the shields go up to preserve so does the non-verbal language and the cynicism based on fear.
3.) It emits a repelling odor of self-absorption.
When others view a leader as self-absorbed, people tend to keep their distance and make the leader’s influence less effective.
Self-preservation is a self-fulfilling prophecy and it happens every day.
When a leader becomes obsessed with protecting the very things they are afraid of losing, they tend to lose them more quickly because of the issues above.
Conversely, when a leader breaks through their walls of self-preservation they find more influence with more people by focusing on what they can give instead of becoming obsessive about protecting what they have received.
Self-preservation is everywhere. It is like a cancer to leaders but the only cure is for a leader to give themselves away.
