Last month, I wrote about how I’m working on my fears, mostly because I feel them amplifying in the world right now, and I want to do what I can (world domination for Good®) to light the way for anyone who wants to be on this path with me.

Now let’s turn attention to those we lead — either titled reports or people we influence. Have you experienced someone as dominating or blaming? Maybe you have felt diminished or like you weren’t getting someone’s true feelings? What if instead of dominating, you considered they were afraid of being vulnerable? How would you shift your body language, your words, and your curiosity to invite them to vulnerability just like you invited yourself to laugh at the space between your fear and the underpinning emotion?

What if you addressed blaming with the awareness that there could be a fear of rejection underneath? And that diminishing feeling from a “know-it-all” could be their fear of inferiority? And one last one – maybe for all the parents who have teens right now – when you feel maybe you aren’t getting the complete picture, consider there might be a fear of being trapped.

Same curiosity, same shift in body language, same awareness of words applies to all four – how you see the person changes. And when you change your lens, they can change their fear.