I wish I was more insecure, so I could relate better to colleagues who struggle with their insecurity. I keep missing opportunities to share moments of vulnerability. I can’t tap into that common language where we all wish we were better. People watch me, waiting for me to trip-up, and then I succeed. Then they stop watching. This is not how you get likes.
Perhaps I can overcome this challenge by doing more research.
My greatest frustration is articles proclaiming that almost everyone is insecure. From a Huffington Post article by Susan Winter:
Every human being wonders if they’re “okay.” That’s the big secret no one shares and no one wants to share. …at the core of every human is the desire to be accepted and seen as valuable in the eyes of those around us. …There will be times you’ll feel on top of the world and times you’ll doubt your worth. This is normal. It’s a part of our forward movement as we take stock of who we are, in transit to who we’re becoming.
I feel like the captain of a Star Trek vessel observing “the planet of the insecure” hesitating about whether I should help. If I could cure this planet of its insecurities, would their social order fall apart? Would I take away that one thing that moves them forward every day?
What Teenagers Learn About Status and Insecurity
In this age of industrialized narcissism, the insecure are way better at delivering photos of their perfect life, drawing attention to their accomplishments, and working late to meet high expectations. In an Inc.com article Jessica Stillman cites Yale psychologist Mitch Prinstein, who bemoans that a growing number of platforms are making it easier for us to gain status. Prinstein differentiates between two types of popularity, status and likability. Those who pursue and achieve high status tend towards “aggression, addiction, hatred, and despair.”
It’s great television.
In another article Stillman argues you should be relieved if you were not a cool kid in high school. Cool kids get their reputation through behaviours that must become increasingly extreme in order to keep up with their subgroup. At some point these antics veer into criminal behaviour and drug use which peers realize isn’t cool at all: “by the age of 22, these ‘cool kids’ are rated as less socially competent than their peers.”
By contrast, those who focused on developing one really close friendship “reported lower levels of social anxiety and depression and higher self worth as young adults.” Nerds and healthy people work on their likeability. Not facebook likes – that’s just a type of status. I’m talking about people liking you for who you really are. This is hard work. You need to make yourself vulnerable to close friends. Sincerely attempt to improve yourself. Be authentic in your words and deeds. Back to Susan Winter’s Huffington Post article…
A truly empowered person can look at their shortcomings and seek improvement. The arrogantly insecure must only see a mirror that reflects their perfection. …The nature of growth requires embracing the new and unexplored. Security is opposed to growth, as growth is chaotic and unsettling. Insecurity is the gift of wondering what comes next in our discovery process. [Emphasis added]
Insecurity is a good thing? I’m furious.
Defining Emotional Security and Its Evil Twin, Insecurity
When doing people analytics, the first pass at the numbers often hinges on a data definition that needs better clarity. Humanity is ambiguous and the closer we get to precisely measuring people, the more the human element claps-back at the empirical system, exposing that it’s the quantitative models themselves that are vulnerable.
Insecurity is “a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving oneself to be vulnerable or inferior in some way, or a sense of vulnerability or instability which threatens one’s self-image or ego.”
Wikipedia has a great article on emotional security, which by default gets into insecurity. Wikipedia is the source of consensus amateur opinion, which is perfect for you and me. I mean you. No offense. Insecurity is “a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving oneself to be vulnerable or inferior in some way, or a sense of vulnerability or instability which threatens one’s self-image or ego.”
Already we’re in a pickle given Brené Brown’s research that the quality of our relationships depends on our ability to make ourselves vulnerable to others on a topic of personal shame. To go deep in a relationship, we must choose to be insecure. Those high school kids with one close friend were onto something.
Is There Anything Tangible We Can Do About Insecurity?
Is there anything tangible about insecurity? Yes. Wikipedia says
The concept [of Emotional security] is related to that of psychological resilience in as far as both concern the effects which setbacks or difficult situations have on an individual. However, resilience concerns over-all coping, also with reference to the individual’s socioeconomic situation, whereas the emotional security specifically characterizes the emotional impact. In this sense, emotional security can be understood as part of resilience.
Some people have a status and/or demeanor with which they can weather setbacks better than others. Therefore the emotional state of insecurity relates to 1) things that do in fact happen to us, 2) our ability to adapt to those things that happen including our own actions, and 3) our perspective and emotional state that arises from our experiences and adaptations.
This trifecta reveals that there are multiple responses to these shocks to our lives. We can prevent bad things from happening through precautions and defenses. We can mitigate after things have happened through insurance claims, emotional debriefs with friends, or by pressing charges. We can improve our adaptations by upping our game (by trying harder or changing our methods as individuals), or fighting back against a collective injustice (e.g. go to a rally or make a targeted donation), or sometimes just letting others win (e.g. I hereby choose to load the dishwasher).
Or we can choose a different perspective and emotional state, such as accepting flaws in ourselves, in others, and in the world at large. There is comfort in humility. If you don’t like that, there’s always hope. Choose your emotional posture. Shape the clouds with your own bare hands.
What a Secure Workplace Looks Like
Now, let’s consider what this means in the workplace. If an employee knows what is expected of them every day, they can correctly self-assess if they are delivering on expectations and change course accordingly. If an employee has one good friend in the workplace, they can share vulnerable moments in which they are reassured and accepted as who they are. If an employee is mistreated or put at risk, they can only prevent and mitigate if they are free to complain, talk to the union, or refuse unsafe working conditions. If the employee faces unexpected dental expenses or fears poverty in retirement, they focus better when their employer provides pensions and benefits.
Take insecurity seriously, it’s the main engine.
The employer is asking people to do work for them, and in return offers an environment that is economically, physically, and emotionally reassuring to their security. Take insecurity seriously, it’s the main engine.
There we go, my work is done. It’s amazing what you can learn about a topic you know nothing about by putting a few hours into research and explaining things. It feels accomplished. It’s not that I was feeling insecure earlier. I wasn’t. I’m only doing this for you.
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Stuart Murray Speaks 