The Fearless Executive

Silencing the Dark Adviser

The formula for reaching the highest level of success as an executive is clear: "Trust your talents. Follow your passion. Silence the fear."

Seeking a successful career as an executive is like landing an airplane. You must consider altitude, distance and wind resistance. To land, you have to find the ideal combination of these three factors. Likewise, you must work on increasing both your talent and passion, while reducing the resistance to moving ahead.

Your strategic advantage is your talent, which "gives you an edge over the competition." Your passion gives you motivation to move forward and the ability to persist. By contrast, fear is like an "internal chain" that holds you back. Fear blocks you from exploring and experimenting, and keeps you from discovering your true talents. Not until you silence these strong voices of fear are you able to experience your fullest potential and come to know your capabilities, and thus achieve your greatest success.

Realize that you already have the talent and passion to succeed. Executive success isn’t based on having a particular talent or passion. Rather, it comes from knowing what your...