activities and behaviours, mostly without us even realizing it. We all live with fears but we are often not aware of it.

You may have come across psycho-metrics. They are very popular as they help us to understand who we are and our strengths and weaknesses. Lots of tests are available that you might have done like Myers Briggs Type Indicator, OPQ, MBTI, Hogan, Insights, Strengths Finder etc. 

Shirzad Chamine, the author of the Positive Intelligence uses a model based on 10 types of 'Saboteur'. These saboteurs are the negative side of our main strengths and manifest in a way that does not serve us well. Often they are our source of inner stress and they impact not only ourselves but very often our entire relationships with colleagues, teams, friends and family as well. If we lead big organisations, they might even impact an entire organizational culture.

The book Positive Intelligence identifies 10 Saboteurs: Controller, Hyper-Achiever, Stickler, Pleaser, Victim, Hyper-Vigilant, Hyper Rational, Restless, Avoider and the Judge. We all might have each of the saboteurs in us but to different extents.

"Underneath the bravado of the controller saboteur there is often a hidden fear of being controlled by others or life" (quote: Shirzad Chamine, Positive Intelligence). To avoid this, the controller sets the scene and tries to influence as much as possible. There is a strong desire to take charge and control situations and people's actions according to one's own will. If things are not controllable (e.g. unforeseen situations, pressure, other people's performance and mistakes) the controller is out of their comfort zone, feels impatient, rejected, hurt, and can display anger and high levels of anxiety. People with a strong controller saboteur might do tasks themselves instead of delegating to others because it is very important for them to do it 'right'.

This can have a significant influence on their own stress levels and working hours.

The controller can be detrimental to relationships and stifle creativity and, as is the case for all the saboteurs, it can trigger saboteurs in others - the pleaser and hyper-achiever are good examples here because the hyperachiever will try to do everything asked as will the pleaser to their own detriment and this can cause a negative spiral in the relationships and interactions between people.

During my professional career, I have worked for several managers with a high controller tendency. (At the time, of course, I wasn't´ familiar with this concept - It's always easier to see these things in hindsight!) When things went well, I didn't really feel the impact of the controller saboteur on myself. However, when circumstances changed and business got tougher, this changed significantly. 

In one particular case, the person in mind started to challenge everything, questioned a lot of small day-to-day activities and focused on small things. They pointed out every failure and mistake made in the organisation which created a toxic work environment. Based on their daily mood, we either had a good day or a bad day at work.

One of my colleagues was very challenged by this manager. I could see how this impacted her as she became more and more insecure and I could physically see how stressed she became. As she felt constantly 'on display', she then created more failures which led to more criticism. I was in my early 20's and her emotions and related behaviours directly triggered similar emotions in me (This is a proven phenomenon called emotional contagion). I mirrored her emotions and started to question my own work.

When I realised that I couldn’t stop thinking of work in my spare time any more; when I started questioning my own activities all day long; and when the situation impacted my sleep, I decided to leave this environment after just 7 months.

This working climate had a huge impact on me, my mood, my self-confidence and performance and my motivation. 

Since then, I have become skilled in observing this saboteur behaviour in other people, which now helps me to manage my own emotions and respond differently. Sometimes saboteurs trigger each other, and it is easy to understand when this happens and it gives us other tools to respond. We often see circumstances very emotionally and it helps to distance ourselves from them and look at them from a different perspective. 

In stressful and demanding circumstances, the controller saboteur often unknowingly creates a fear-based environment. Debating and challenging others is often seen as a pattern. Interestingly, the person displaying the saboteur often doesn't recognize their own fear of failure and the consequences of this behaviour on themselves and others. I am wondering how many decisions being made currently based on the underlying fear of a controller saboteur. 

In a fear-based environment, people often focus on their daily activities and goals. There is no room for failure. Managers are measuring results, spending their time on fire-fighting and punishing infractions instead of using the employees potential.

People are afraid to tell the truth because they feel that their opinion is not appreciated. Such working environments are a great source for rumours as people can not speak their mind openly. 

While an external person like a consultant, coach or any other outsider can easily spot a fear-based culture most of the time, the managers themselves are not aware of their impact on creating this atmosphere. The higher you are in the organisation, the less feedback you receive because people are afraid of possible consequences. If nobody tells you and if there is not a feedback culture established in the workplace, you don’t get to face this part of you which means you don’t become aware of it and can’t change it.

The organisational impact is lack of collaboration as everyone is just focusing on their own tasks, people are blaming and finger-pointing and there is limited innovation as people don't collaborate and exchange ideas any more. People feel their opinions don’t matter and they become disengaged and demotivated. Younger generations, in particular, feel that they cannot learn and evolve in such an environment. 

Can you relate to this in any way? Are you working in such an environment or have you experienced this in the past?

Many workplaces surveys have shown that people are driven by purpose and are most engaged when they have a sense that their contribution is appreciated and they can influence results. A lot of people need responsibility and freedom to act combined with a clear picture of where they are heading to. We also know that there is a great need for psychological safety in our society, especially at the moment. The feeling of being accepted the way we are, the right to challenge the status quo, to learn and make mistakes and to speak our mind in our teams is very important. 

Learning more about the impact of these saboteurs on ourselves can help us to understand our personality, what drives us and to see how we limit ourselves and our decisions based on underlying fears and anxiety. If we can focus on our strengths only, we can reach our goals more easily, live a happier and more fulfilled life and enjoy better relationships. 

* Here, I want to focus on the 'controller' saboteur which is very common in C-level executives and leaders. The clear strengths of this saboteur is to see the big picture, to think strategically and to be action-oriented. Controllers are usually confident and decisive. Besides this, the controller is driven, willful and persistent and shows high self-motivation. The controller likes high standards and is constantly questioning and challenging themselves and others. Decisions can be taken even if they are unpopular. Conflicts are seen as necessary and the controller is not afraid of them. 

It's no wonder that this personality trait is often found in high-level executives.

someone with a strong controller saboteur might feel a lot of fear and anxiety. Important decisions might then be based on that fear and anxiety if the person is not aware of those emotions.

How high is this controller part in yourself? Do you recognise yourself here? Can you relate to this description?

We all react very differently when under pressure. We all have different main saboteurs, blind spots, behaviour and personality traits we are not aware of. The basis for improving ourselves is self-awareness. If we see that we are the source of our own stress level or understand the impact of our own behaviour towards others, we might see the benefits of working on ourselves.

But how do you become aware of our own personality? As I said earlier, the higher up in an organisation we go, the lonelier it gets. People are depending on us which means they might not give us a straight forward feedback.

I´d like to encourage you to ask people in your environment to find your blind spots. Feedback is so important and still we don't use it as well as we could. Ask people you trust to help you understand your personality and the impact (positive and negative) you might on others. Be open for praise and recognition but also listen to ideas as to how you can improve.

As a coach, I often use the saboteur assessment as a base for my coaching discussion. Surprisingly, people can quickly relate to the results which opens up for a great conversation around the saboteurs' impact on themselves and others. It is amazing to see how quickly people can change their behaviour if they become aware of it and the impact it has. As the saboteurs are a big source of stress, there is a clear benefit for ourselves to reduce their impact on the way we feel, think or decide.

But not everybody has a coach and coaching is not everybody’s cup of tea. Therefore, it is important that we keep alert and constantly look for feedback and signs. There are days when we are more open to it than others. Why not ask people for feedback when we feel strong? If you don’t want to ask people close to you now, start with external people, who don’t have anything to lose and people you trust. Show the vulnerable side in yourself because perfect doesn’t exist. Be an authentic leader... 

For me, life is about change and growths and I’d like to encourage you to understand how to live a better life and how to lead your teams in a better way. As a leader, you will leave a footprint in other people's lives. You can decide which header they should read. The good thing is, it is never too late to grow and change.