As I was walking through the office of my client, Derek,* to review feedback I’d collected from interviews with his organization, I sensed an obvious dread in the air. People were quiet, heads down, and pre-occupied — a stark contrast from when I visited a few weeks prior. When I got to Derek’s assistant’s desk, I asked him, “Is everything okay? Everyone seems so gloomy.” He said: “Derek’s in one of his moods, and they’re afraid of what’s going to happen after you leave. A little while ago, he came out and asked, ‘Can you please see if there are any empty boxes in the storage room? I may need them later.’” I responded, “Why do you think he wants boxes?” He said, “He thinks he’s getting fired because of the feedback.”
Do You Understand Why You Catastrophize?
Everyday setbacks don’t have to feel like doomsday scenarios.
October 04, 2023
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Summary.
Leaders who create doomsday scenarios out of everyday setbacks — what behavioral scientists call “catastrophizing” — risk spreading their anxiety to their teams. In this article, the author digs in to the psychological and physiological reasons behind this tendency to draw disastrous conclusions and presents several ways to address it: 1) Reflect on how you learned to expect the worst; 2) Create ways to interrogate faulty data; 3) Learn to regulate amid your catastrophizing; 4) Separate fears rooted in reality from those you fabricate; and 5) Acknowledge the consequences your catastrophizing has for others.