Removing the Fear
By Bob McGannon

Of all the means to motivate and inspire employees, a key strategy for the successful project manager is to remove fear from their teams mindset. Replacing that fear with conviction - a confidence and direction that will lead to success - creates formidable teams that, with the right leadership, can quickly move a business forward.

Common amongst all people is the need to feel secure in their work. Project managers multiply their ability to make things happen within their project when they successfully make their teams feel as if they have genuine ownership of their jobs and can grow as a result of their efforts. The first step to instilling this ownership and commitment is removing the fear from their job environment.

I am not suggesting that project managers should not install as sense of urgency in their employees, or totally diffuse stressful situations. In fact, these are tools that managers should use as part of leading their teams. Removing the fear from employees' approach to work is a product of successful leadership; employees that are not fearful of taking action, constructively disagreeing with "the PM", or working with their teammates in a collaborative fashion, move the business forward and make the project manager look good.

Successful leadership techniques that can remove the fear from the job environment include:

MBWA - Managing by walking around, asking questions of team members that are genuine and direct like "What are you working on?" or "Is there anything I can do that would improve your ability to get the job done?" works wonders in demonstrating to employees that you care, and that you make an effort to understand their needs and wants. Do this with some regularity but not so much that it is perceived as a "rote process". Roundtable discussions, which include the project manager and a dozen or so project employees, are effective for larger organizations.

Be Straightforward - Don't let your desire to be liked and remove employee fears keep you from being direct, with both good and bad news. A project manager that does not discuss "bad news" will not remove any fear; employees will realize that they aren't hearing the bad news and fear will return. They will wonder what is happening that you aren't sharing with them. Anxiety over something that is known is much easier to deal with than things that are unknown. If you manage an organization that is dealing with an issue and you discuss it with your employees openly and frankly, and demonstrate your dedication to being part of the solution with your employees, fear can be turned into determination.

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