Fear is a primary emotion. It’s considered the first emotion we experience in life, as a baby leaves the womb and confronts the world.

Fear helps us survive, often acting as an ally, guiding us to make decisions that protect our lives. However, it can also be a source of stress and a cause of anxiety.

The latest Gallup report on the State of the Global Workplace shows that 41% of employees experience daily stress. One of the key recommendations is the increasing need to care for mental health and personal well-being. Quite similar, this year’s theme for World Mental Health Day, on October 10th, is “It is time to prioritize mental health in the workplace.”

The emotional side of leadership

These reports often provide recommendations for managers and HR teams but say little about the emotions that drive human behavior. Emotions help us survive, guide our decision-making, and enable us to connect with others. They are the essence of what defines us as human beings. Emotions can be our greatest motivator, but they can also be our greatest inner enemy—especially fear and the stress they can produce.

Behind negative emotions like fear, there are usually unmet needs. Behind positive emotions, there are satisfied needs. In a professional context, common reasons for fear include making decisions, fear of failure or mistakes, losing control, facing the unknown, and fear of conflicts. According to the Gallup report, managers experience more negative emotions daily compared to non-managers. Yet, leaders and managers are key creators of the work environment and corporate culture.

However, it is not common to admit fear among those in leadership positions. The role itself implies power, and it’s not socially “acceptable” to admit to emotions that suggest weakness. Leaders are expected to “know the most and be the most capable.” This pressure often leads individuals to focus on building an idealized self-image that would meet societal standards. Unfortunately, this can cause a disconnect between the idealized self and one’s emotions as well as own authenticity. Fears may be suppressed, but they will not disappear. The needs will “call for action” from the inside and are not always connected to the professional context. The need to rest, to balance between private and professional life, to fulfill expectations of the close ones to belong, or the need for love and being acknowledged.

Suppressed fears and other negative emotions often manifest in behavior such as stress, frustration, or some form of aggression. Which leads to unproductive relationships in the workplace.

What is the exit strategy?

Liberation from fear often won’t happen when the sources of fear disappear. One source of fear could replace another. The fundamental reason many people feel trapped or unfree is that they believe their behavior must meet the expectations and demands of others. When the locus of control is external rather than internal. 

Freedom does don mean the absence of fear. it’s about transforming it into a catalyst for personal and professional growth. Freedom occurs when the locus of control shifts inward, and a person accepts themselves—their mistakes, emotions, and needs. In short, they become an active participant in their life instead of a passive consumer of circumstances. This is when true liberation occurs. It’s when a person feels free to use their greatest power – the right to choose and decide. Freedom to set boundaries and take ownership of their successes as well as their failures. Freedom is when we feel secure within ourselves. Such safety is achieved through self-work and personal development. There are a lot of strategies for stress management, creating self-care routines toward well-being, and dealing with inner “monsters”

A manager or leader who feels free will foster a culture of trust and security within the organization. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as an illustration, beyond our basic physiological needs, we have safety needs. At the higher levels, we find psychological needs for belonging, love, affirmation, and self-realization.

When people feel safe, it becomes a condition for them to create, engage, and drive the organization’s growth.

The role of oxytocin

Building trust as a key motivational factor for employee engagement and well-being involves the hormone of happiness – oxytocin. In the article “Neuroscience of Trust” published in Harvard Business Review, neuroscientist Paul Zak shares interesting findings from his long-term research. He focused on the impact of oxytocin as a hormone of happiness in creating trust within organizations and boosting organizational performance. 

Oxytocin is often called the bonding hormone. It is typically stimulated through physical contact and, for example, is crucial for creating a bond between a mother and her newborn. But Zak has found that it is also released when people feel safe.

He found that stress inhibits oxytocin, preventing effective interaction with others. Conversely, oxytocin increases the ability to empathize and connect, which is crucial for collaboration.

The culture of trust

According to Zak, building a culture of high trust in organizations is directly correlated with increased oxytocin, as well as higher engagement and organizational growth. He identified eight managerial behaviors that raise oxytocin levels, create trust, and have measurable effects:

• • Recognizing excellence—satisfying the need for affirmation and recognition.
  • Inducing challenging stress through achievable work tasks, stimulating oxytocin, and a sense of trust.
  • Giving team members discretion in how they do their work.
  • Enable work-crafting — fostering a sense of ownership over the results and personal responsibility for decisions.
  • Share information broadly – Only 40% of employees reported that they are well informed about their company’s goals, strategies, and tactics.
  • Intentionally build relationships – focus on making friends, not only on completing tasks.
  • Facilitate whole-person growth – people are whole beings, and only satisfied individuals can produce good results.
  • Show vulnerability – asking for help from team members, not just delegating tasks.

The measured effects are incredible. Zak and his team measured 74% less stress, a 50% increase in productivity, and 76% more engagement. Furthermore a 40% less burnout, 29% more life satisfaction, and a 13% decrease in sick leaves.

These effects of creating a culture of trust need managers and leaders who feel safe and free.

Accepting fear as a part of life, and turning it into a tool for growth, rather than a hindrance, is a powerful step toward leadership excellence. By confronting and understanding your fears, leaders gain the ability to manage them opening the way for authentic leadership that resonates with the team. Instead of letting fear take control of their behavior, they are capable of recognizing and managing emotions toward the best personal outcome.

Understanding the crucial role of leadership’s role in fostering a culture of trust and safety leads to safe work environments with increased engagement and organizational growth.