3 Tips for Helping to Eliminate Fear When Innovating
Your potential to achieve is limited only by your level of fear.
“Corporate Americans have a fear of doing anything new. They’re comfortable doing the same thing over and over again. You know, “we ran that promotion last year, let’s run it again this year.”
Eric Schulz
Marketing Author & Expert
If people can’t even talk about their ideas, there is little to no chance that they will take action on the ideas that are necessary to make a tangible difference at work or in life.
1. Write Down Every Reason an Idea Might Fail
Bring the fears out into the open. Encourage your team to be brutally honest – what are the toughest, nastiest obstacles standing in the way? List them all. Then, tackle them one at a time,
Focused college student sitting in cafeteria taking notes while using laptop. Young brazilian woman doing research for business at coffee shop. African american girl sitting in cafe writing notes.[/caption]starting with the biggest hurdle first.
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If the team can’t overcome the largest barrier, you’ve saved valuable time by not pushing a doomed project forward.
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If the team can overcome it, momentum builds fast. Each win boosts confidence, fueling energy and belief in the idea.
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Even if a project dies, the team walks away knowing they made a smart choice, preserving energy for the next challenge.
Killing a weak project early isn’t failure – it’s progress.
2. Make Failure Easy (and Celebrate It)
Yes, celebrate failure. Reward your team for trying, even when it doesn’t work out. When people know it’s safe to fail, they’re far more willing to take bold leaps.
You can minimize the downside by making failure easy and inexpensive. Create a “sandbox” where teams can safely test ideas with real customers. Some concepts
will flop—and that’s the point. The faster you learn, the faster you grow.
3. Start with a Small, Guaranteed Win
Give your team a challenge where success is practically certain. Then celebrate the victory. You’ll 
be amazed at how even one small win can break down fear and open the door to bigger, riskier ideas.
LEADERSHIP TIP: As a leader, set the tone. When it’s time to share ideas, throw out the first one—and make it wildly absurd. The more outlandish, the better. By showing you’re not afraid to look silly, you give your team permission to loosen up and share freely. That’s when creativity really starts to flow.