Approaching the “Mine Shaft” at break-neck speed, my mountain bike’s front wheel suddenly dropped off the edge of the near-vertical descent into the abyss.

The stomach-churning sensation triggered both my fear of the unknown and my fear of being out of control, skyrocketing my Pucker Reflex to a 10 out of 10 brush-with-death rating.

Up to this point in my cycling career, I had regarded myself as a competent and experienced, self-taught weekend warrior of a mountain biker who had successfully competed in several single-stage mountain bike races.

However, on this first day of the notorious three-day Berg & Bush Mountain Bike Race, I was about to face much tougher technical challenges than any of my previous experiences, self-help cycling tutorials, or How-To YouTube tutorials could’ve prepared me for.

As gravity did its job accelerating my 1.93-meter, 100-kilogram “buffalo” frame down the steep slope, I suddenly realised that the initial thrill of feeling the wind in my hair and the freedom of riding faster than ever before quickly turned into a moment of deep fear of being out of control.

I struggled to maintain any form of composure or control as the laws of physics shifted my centre of gravity over my handlebars. I realised my flippant comment at school about never needing physics was about to come back and bite me in the ass.

As I picked up speed on the downhill, I was going faster than my mountain biking skill could handle, and I simply white-knuckled, holding on to the bike with what was more a matter of luck than skill. My pre-race confidence on that beautiful sunny morning was shattered as I realised that my biking experience was insufficient and posed a clear and imminent danger to me surviving that fateful day.

My You-Tubing biking skills and non-existent stage riding skills were turning out to be a greater danger, potentially finishing the day in the back of an ambulance rather than unbroken on the seat of my faithful steed.

My uncoached knowledge and lack of time in the saddle were but a dust spec in a 270km dust bowl of REAL downhill mountain biking. With my feet, still firmly cleated in (stuck and unmoveable) on the pedals with a thick sense of fear (and dust) in my mouth, I didn’t have time to take any evasive measures to avoid the impending and spectacular wipe-out that was awaiting me at the bottom of this near vertical descent.

All my emotions, insecurities and fears of not being good enough seemed to be jostling for priority as the blood rushed from my outer extremities in a futile attempt to protect the extra layer of fat already surrounding my vital organs while leaving my blood-drained head exposed. This left a lightweight, porous Styrofoam helmet as the only form of protection for my oversized ego and remaining few brain cells. (What. The. Hell?)

Within the first 20 meters down this 100-meter black hole, I had lost any illusion of being anywhere near in control of this bouncing, bucking bicycle that hurtled uncontrollably towards a sharp turn to the left.

Suddenly, I remembered what Buzz Lightyear had said: It wasn’t flying but controlled falling. But in my case, nothing was controlling about it. In those few nanoseconds, I experienced an uncontrollable technical dismount at the bottom of Solly’s mine shaft. As I lifted off, the feeling of sheer weightlessness, but more powerlessness, was accompanied by my bucking bronco of a mountain bike suddenly steadying itself. It took the left-hand hairpin bend in a perfect line with the grace of a gazelle, untethered from the chump who had been frantically holding on for dear life.

Flying through the air, I wondered why I took up this challenge. The adrenaline rush was overwhelming, but so were my fears: fear of the unknown, fear of not being in control, fear of not being good enough, fear of rejection, and definitely the fear of looking incompetent.

 A bit too late to prevent the accident waiting to happen, but in that moment before wiping out, I realised a few sessions of coaching by a professional coach would have prevented the blunt force trauma about to be ingrained in both my body and my ego.

This high level unexpected technical dismount that could end my mountain biking career and my life, reminded me of the time I had been promoted to a senior managerial position, experiencing the same out of control emotions and fears. At the time, I had doubted my previously developed managerial skill set, and confused my job title with my self-worth. I was too proud to seek advice from a skilled executive coach because I incorrectly believed I was supposed to know everything entering into the new job and responsibilities. That’s why I was promoted, Yes? WRONG!!

Now, how are the same subconscious fears experienced when rapidly descending a mine shaft similar to the fears sabotaging your performance as a newly promoted Manager/Executive or having been given a challenging business critical project to manage?

These debilitating fears of the unknown, not being in control, not being good enough, rejection, and the fear of appearing stupid or incompetent are, in fact, very real in these day-to-day working experiences. Just as real as the fears invoked when white knuckling down a mine shaft on a mountain bike and seeing your life flash before your eyes.

The experiences between mountain biking and Management/Leadership may be different, yet they evoke the same unresourceful subconscious fears, feelings, and behaviours. What is worse is that you do not even know that these subconscious fears are at work and harming your personal and career life. It is the typical subconscious Trojan Horse strategy that Is going to get you killed …at least figuratively unless you are coached on how to recognise these unresourceful limiting behaviours, to clear them and to replace them with more productive beliefs and behaviours.

Does this sound familiar?

My Executive Effectiveness coaching methodology is tailored and refined to suit these work- and leadership-related subconscious fears and the challenges holding you back from being the best that you can be.

With the goal of creating a personalised and holistic solution. Addressing these problems as they arise through development plans, continuous learning, and ongoing support. Executives and leaders can then overcome these fears by combining a newly developed awareness and shift of perspective, therefore unlocking their potential as influential leaders.

Improving your effectiveness is within your reach.

Find out how here.