6 Fears That Lead You to Rationalize Your Behavior- Clarity #33
Alan Andersen
The evolution of a leader includes an ever-increasing emotional intelligence, starting with self-awareness. If you lack self-awareness, you are unable to see when you step out of integrity. In other words, you are unable to see how your words, thoughts, and actions are not in alignment. This dissonance forces an auto response to spin the story — leading to compromised truth, ending with a skewed reality.
Conversely, if you’re a leader with high self-awareness, you are able to quickly discern when and where you are out of alignment with truth. You quickly see your error, admit fault, and take personal accountability. You take action to repair the crack in the relationships due to lack of judgment, and with your words and action, you own the issue at hand. The humility of the self-aware leader leaves plenty of room to learn from mistakes, be curious to what you do not yet know, and be open to feedback as a way to learn and grow.
Most people don’t intentionally rationalize. It comes from being scared, to be blunt. If you have taken the Talent Insight Report, you know that there are four fears that people struggle with and will do most anything to avoid.
- Fear of Being Taken Advantage Of
- Fear of Social Rejection
- Fear of Loss of Security
- Fear of Making Mistakes
Or how about the two fears of the successful entrepreneur:
- Will I be found out?
- Do I have what it takes?
Fear gets in the way of truth, and thus we must rationalize or falsify something in order to psychologically survive and bring a sense of order and control.
What do you think? What are other fears that cause leaders to rationalize?
Your Coach,
This article originally appeared at True Life Coaching