Portland, ME -
“It’s important to be scared,” said Indhu Rubasingham. “If I wasn’t scared, I wouldn’t be doing my job,” the new Artistic Director of the British National Theater added in a recent FT Weekend interview.
Rubasingham was speaking about bringing new, diverse voices into the Theater’s repertoire. Some people will support the Theater and visit it for the first time because they’ll actually see faces, cultures, and perspectives like their own. Among the scary parts, however, is that other folks will resist change and, in some cases, even succumb to their own racism, misogyny, or homophobia in bitterly opposing material from people unlike them. In doing so, of course, they fail any understanding of the shared human experience.
A reporter once asked Meryl Streep whether she still gets nervous before a theater production. Yes she does, Streep said, adding that the day she loses a manageable case of stage fright is the day she fails to deliver her best work. Managing nervousness - and accepting that a small case of it can be a good thing - is part of being a true professional whether as an actor, ball player, public speaker, or leader. It helps ensure that you won't just mail it in.
The ones to worry about, of course, are the know-it-all bros in leadership positions who believe that showing any sign of fear, doubt, or uncertainty is a weakness. Their arrogant pretensions are a massive weakness, of course, and often imperil organizations and careers.
Are you a bit fearful in making a major decision or communicating an important message? Good. You should be. That’s normal. Another word for it is thoughtfulness. Too much fear can cripple you, for sure, but a modest does of it keeps you sharp. It makes you more situationally aware. Leadership works best when it combines that kind of humility with confidence.