--- title: When the Fear of Loss is Driving and What To Do About It description: Loss aversion affects us all, but it becomes a problem when we put it in the driver's seat. Learn the signs and tactics to adjust when loss aversion drives. image: https://centered.work/hubfs/Social%20-%20LossAversion.png --- [![CENTERED LOGO Dark](https://centered.work/hubfs/CENTERED%20LOGO%20Dark.png)](https://centered.work) - Services - [Breakthrough Lab](https://centered.work/breakthrough-lab) - [Design Sprint](https://centered.work/services/design-sprints) - [Innovation Coaching](https://centered.work/innovation-coaching) - Case Study - Books - Workshops - Podcast - Articles - About Us [Get in touch](https://centered.work/contact-us) Coaching # When the Fear of Loss is Driving and What To Do About It Loss aversion affects us all, but it becomes a problem when we put it in the driver's seat. Learn the signs and tactics to adjust when loss aversion drives. [JL Heather](https://centered.work/articles/author/jl-heather) Jul 8, 2024 --- We are all human, and that means we have a tendency to avoid loss at the expense acquiring equivalent or even greater gains. It’s called “loss aversion” and when it sneaks into the driver seat of our decision-making it can be hard to get your hands back on the wheel. That’s not to say loss aversion is always bad and should never influence your decisions. Excessive loss aversion, however, can lead to missed opportunities, stagnation, and worse. So how can we, as leaders, know when loss aversion has been taken too far?   #### **Negative Framing** Negative framing is often the first step down the path of putting loss aversion in the driver’s seat. If you find yourself consistently focusing on what could go wrong with a lack of emphasis on what could go right, it’s easy to create an unbalanced view of your options. This leads to - Unhealthy risk avoidance - Decision paralysis - Reduced innovation - Lower motivation - A pessimistic culture Our perspective drives our views and behaviors. Negative framing will drag you down where a more balance perspective will help move you forward. Spend some time either daily or weekly auditing your decision making and ask yourself if you’ve given a fair amount of airtime to both sides of an issue. Note, not equal airtime, but a fair amount of time to each. Look for trends and triggers in your decision making that lead to an over emphasis on the negative and develop coping strategies.   #### **Fear of Feedback** The next earliest sign of loss aversion could be the fear of feedback. When you find yourself, your team, or your organization avoiding actively seeking feedback or criticism, misinterpreting constructive feedback, or resisting changes based on feedback it’s time to start digging in. This avoidance of feedback is a sign that there is a resistance to change and by extension improvement. If this goes on long enough, you will see stagnation, increased blind spots, and missed opportunities. Thankfully, the path forward is easy, just rip the band aid off and start soliciting feedback. Take the time to thoroughly examine and internalize the input with a curious mindset and take action immediately. This is an “eat the frog” moment that will not be as bad as you fear. #### **Risk Avoidance** Avoiding risk is necessary to some degree, but the reality is that true success requires an element of risk and usually a risk bigger than most are comfortable with. Risk avoidance may be showing up for you or your team in a few ways: - Fear of failure - Reluctance to try something new - Excessive reliance on past success or what has worked in the past - Conservative investments in resources - Procrastination - Decision paralysis or constantly revisiting decisions All of these are signs that you and/or your organization are struggling with effectively managing risk. This leads to missed opportunities, low innovation and growth, reduced productivity, and more. To shift the mindset here it’s important to focus on making failure safer (i.e. psychological safety) and celebrating learnings rather than losses. ### What to do about Loss Aversion If you find yourself struggling with loss aversion, there are concrete actions you can take that will help. 1. **Reframe Decisions:** 1. **Set Clear Goals and Metrics:** 1. **Create Psychological Safety:** 1. **Diversify Decision-Making:** 1. **Practice Incrementalism:** 1. **Seek External Feedback:** 1. **Regularly Review Decisions:** By recognizing the signs of excessive loss aversion and implementing strategies to mitigate its effects, you can make more balanced, forward-thinking decisions that drive growth and innovation.   [![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on twitter](https://7528304.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528304/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/twitter-color.png?width=24&name=twitter-color.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=) [![Share on email](https://7528311.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528311/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/email-color.png?width=24&name=email-color.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fcentered.work%2Farticles%2Fwhen-the-fear-of-loss-is-driving-and-what-to-do-about-it%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) © 2026 Centered [Coaching](https://centered.work/articles/tag/coaching) ## Similar posts Coaching ### [Why Smart Teams Kill Innovation: The Groupthink Trap No One Talks About](https://centered.work/articles/why-smart-teams-kill-innovation-the-groupthink-trap-no-one-talks-about) We assume that assembling the best and brightest will drive breakthrough innovation. 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