What is FUD?

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)

In the face of something new, many of us will be faced with this reality. When you are a Change Leader you and your teams will be faced with this at some point. It is a natural human reaction to the unknown, unless of course you are a daredevil.

What this means to you, the Change Leader, is now that the prep work is completed and the engagement is approved, the hard work begins. The fun is over for the decision makers negotiated contracts and worked with suppliers and stakeholders to ensure the engagement would be approved. The sell part of the change has been completed and now comes the install part. The initial selling and funding of the idea is high energy, with lots of positive statements from the stakeholders along with a path to go forward.

Vision without execution is just a dream. You as the Change Leader now must bring the vision to life by executing the plan to reach the goals. For many, including me on all my engagements, this is where fear of failure, uncertainty about the plan, and doubt in your ability to deliver will need to be addressed. The FUD factor, as I call it. This is the time to embrace the uncomfortable. The Change Leader must learn to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

FUD is real. Ignoring it is not helpful to you or the team. Acknowledge it, address it with the team and then deal with it. Here are some techniques that have worked for me and for other Change Leaders faced with the FUD factor.

To fight fear of failure, focus on the accomplishments, even the small ones like finishing the project charter. Start to build an attitude with the team of acknowledging wins. Use the phase “take the win” often to create a culture of success. Success breeds success. Obstacles will arise, and that is ok, just do not label them as failures.
“No plan survives contact with the enemy” is drilled into every Infantry Officer, but not having a plan is the quickest path to failure. To deal with the uncertainty of the plan, ensure the teams are focused on the goals and not the timeline. A change engagement is about seizing opportunities, not about keeping to a tight schedule. Allow for slack and stay on track for goals. When working groups start floundering, ask yourself, are they focused on the goal or just the task? If it is just the task, rise above the noise, get to a decision point and then let the decision makers make the decision so the working groups can get refocused on the next goal. Remember, you are implementing something new that will disrupt the status quo, so the goals must be the focal point.

Doubt in my abilities is a struggle for me personally. Like me, you may experience the imposter syndrome and hear that little voice in your head planting the seeds of doubt. Once those seeds take hold, it can be debilitating for you and the people in your charge. For myself, I remind myself, that they would not have given it to me if they thought I could not do it. It is also important for you as the Change Leader to see if doubt is creeping in on members of the team. If so, constantly remind them of the good job they are doing, remind them of the goal and that progress is being made. Progress is more important than perfection. For some members of your team, doubt will appear as over-analysis of a task that they believe is very important, but is not relevant at this stage of the engagement. Take the time to hear them and then guide them to options to get past the impasse. For myself and my inner voice of uncertainty, rescuing others from their cliff of doubt helps remind me to step away from my own cliff. Reminding someone else that they are the right person at the right time to quell their doubts becomes the well of strength I use to keep my own doubt at bay. Helping the team improve is the best way to make you improve. The better you and the team become, the less doubt you will have to deal with. You are the right person at the right time.

Be afraid but do it anyway is a solid piece of wisdom I can impart on any Change Leader.

Nothing solves Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt better then “JUST START”. By starting, you now engage the real issues and not the perceived problems your fear. Deal with the real issues in front of you to push through the fear to get to the success.