FEAR OF FAILURE IS A MYTH. FEAR OF SUCCESS IS REAL.
The biggest fraud in leadership isn’t imposter syndrome - it’s the belief that we are afraid to fail. In reality, failure is safe. It changes nothing. What terrifies us is success, because success rewrites the rules.
When you succeed, there is no going back. Colleagues expect more. Communities expect more. You expect more of yourself. Success is not applause - it is accountability.
IN THE THIRD SECTOR, THIS MATTERS MORE
A hesitant business leader loses profit. A hesitant charity leader loses impact. Every time fear wins, projects stall, funding slips, communities wait. Fear in this sector is not just personal - it is systemic. It is the silence that lets inequality stand.
HOW TO BREAK IT
Redefine fear: treat it as data - evidence you are on the edge of growth.
Build collective courage: boards, trustees, staff all have a role in naming the risk and stepping anyway.
Practise public accountability: measure what matters (outcomes, not activity) and share it, even when imperfect.
Normalise vulnerability: leaders who admit fear model courage for their teams.
THE CHOICE IS NOW
The UK’s third sector faces funding insecurity, digital disruption, and rising demand. What it cannot afford is leaders playing small. Success is not indulgence - it is responsibility.
Step forward. Not perfectly, but publicly. Your voice is needed not for you, but for everyone who cannot afford your silence.