Fear-based leadership is massively prevalent across the corporate world, particularly following the twin stressors of a global pandemic and a struggling economy. In fact, “a large portion of American workers—56 percent—claim their boss is mildly or highly toxic, while 75 percent say dealing with their manager is the most stressful part of their workday” (Source). This article is for anyone who is struggling to navigate (or stop using) fear-based leadership. It includes: the two real-world scenarios that inspired this piece, what fear-based leadership looks like, why it doesn’t work, and practical strategies to combat it. 

Ok, listen up with all that "I'm not getting enough done. I'm not writing that novel. I haven't worked out at home 8 days a week. I'm FAILING QUARANTINE" NONSENSE.

The state of your brain determines what you are capable of accomplishing on a basic, biological level. And right now there are several things happening on a BIOLOGICAL LEVEL that are fucking your brain up.

Worrying doesn't work, and recent neuroscience research opens the door to understanding why. Let me explain. As it turns out, our brains can't distinguish between what's imagined and what's real - at least not from an emotional perspective.  So if you spend a lot of time imagining and reimagining the worst case scenario, you're constantly putting your brain in a threat state. Read on to find out why this is a problem!