Beyond Fight/Flight: The Fawn Response (People pleasing and Peacekeeping)

The Leader's Journey Podcast

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Chuck DeGroat to talk about the natural reactivity we have to anxiety. We’ve talked a lot about fight and flight, conflict and distancing, but we don’t always add two other instinctive reactions: freeze and fawn.

We may aspire to peace-making but we often settle for peace keeping and people-pleasing. When we can see our fawn response, we can stop hiding and courageously choose genuine connection instead.

Conversation Overview:

• Chuck's tweet that inspired this conversation
• How does the fawn response mimic healthy connection while also undermining it?
• How does the fawn response show up in leadership?
• How do we connect the fawn response to anxiety?
• What might we do instead of fawning?

References:

• Link to Chuck's Tweet
• Chuck Degroat Website
• https://twitter.com/chuckdegroat
• @chuckdegroat on Threads
• Janina Fisher
• The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization
• Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image, and the Capacity for Relationship
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable