Courage Over Confidence: Working Through Fear as a Leader

In this inaugural episode, Jill Steeley opens up about what almost stopped her from starting this podcast—fear. She shares her personal journey of overcoming fear as a former FQHC CEO and now business owner, and provides practical strategies for community health leaders to push past their own fears and accomplish their biggest goals.

Key Topics Discussed

The Role of Fear in Leadership

• How fear manifests differently for new versus seasoned leaders
• Common fears for health center CEOs: compromising mission, staff resistance, board backlash, upsetting high-performing teams
• Why fear shouldn't drive your decisions

• Why taking action builds confidence faster than waiting to feel ready
• How action provides clarity when you're stuck
• The power of imperfect action over perfect inaction

• Overcoming fear as a new CEO with no predecessor
• Starting a consulting business as a single mom
• Breaking through limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome
• Turning a health center from a million-dollar deficit to multimillion-dollar reserves

The Fear Inventory Exercise

Jill introduces a practical framework for identifying and working through your fears:

Three Critical Questions to Ask Yourself:

What's the worst that could happen?

• Write down every single possibility
• Face your fears head-on by naming them

• Especially important if you're experiencing burnout
• Consider the long-term impact of inaction

• Envision the opportunities that open up with just one small step
• Consider the ripple effects of taking action

Key Timestamps

• [00:00:00] - Introduction: Why fear almost stopped this podcast
• [00:02:00] - How fear drives the train in our careers
• [00:04:00] - Action provides clarity
• [00:05:00] - Common fears for health center leaders
• [00:06:00] - New leaders vs. seasoned leaders
• [00:08:00] - Starting a consulting business through fear
• [00:12:00] - The Fear Inventory Exercise
• [00:14:00] - Three questions to ask yourself
• [00:18:00] - Building your courage muscle

Key Takeaways

✓ Fear is normal—it's your brain trying to keep you safe, but it shouldn't drive your decisions

✓ Action provides clarity and builds confidence faster than overthinking

✓ New leaders often don't know what they don't know; seasoned leaders fear what they DO know

✓ One small step toward progress is better than perfect planning

✓ Your experience and knowledge have value, even when imposter syndrome tells you otherwise

✓ Fear never fully goes away, but you can build your courage muscle

Actionable Steps

Do a Fear Inventory: What goals have you been avoiding? What fears are stopping you?

Answer the Three Questions: Write down and speak your answers out loud

What's the worst that could happen?

What's the cost of staying where I am?

What becomes possible if I move forward?

Take One Small Step: Identify just the first tiny action toward your goal

Share Your Progress: Email Jill to share what you discovered—let her be your cheerleader

Memorable Quotes

"Courage over confidence every time."

"Action provides clarity. And a lot of times we are fearful because we don't have enough information, because we fear the unknown."

"There aren't many decisions or actions that I took that I regret doing."

"Fear is trying to keep you safe by showing you all the things that could go wrong, but you can interrupt that pattern."

Resources

• Take the Healthcare Leadership Style Quiz at jillsteeley.com

• Explore CEO Connect Bootcamp for leaders building mission-driven, financially thriving organizations

• Free resources available at jillsteeley.com

Connect with Jill

Ready to work through your fears with support? Email Jill about what you discovered in your fear inventory and let her cheer you on as you take your next courageous step.

Next Steps

If you enjoyed this episode:

• Follow the Community Health Collective Podcast on your favorite podcast app
• Share this episode with another community health leader who needs to hear this message
• Visit jillsteeley.com for more resources