Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep. 16 - Probation Anxiety Is Real — Here’s How to Beat It
8 Plays2 days ago
In this episode, Ken Freire and Patrick Lowndes address the rising anxiety young professionals feel around probation periods, layoffs, and job insecurity. They dismantle the false belief that staying busy proves your worth and instead show you how to reset your mindset, clarify your value, and faithfully show up with confidence in Christ—not fear.
Resources Mentioned
- Portfolio Build Sessions – Free community workshops to help you plan projects, grow skill sets, and gain clarity (link referenced as being in show notes).
Timestamps
- 01:05 – 02:25 False belief: “If I stay busy enough, I’ll prove my worth.” Identity rooted in Christ vs. performance
- 02:25 – 03:50 Task masking and working from fear; setting up the five practical resets
- 03:50 – 04:55 Reset #1: Clarify the mission you are on (role expectations, vision, Proverbs 29)
- 04:55 – 06:00 Reset #2: Double down on why they hired you (role clarity, Gallup stats, Proverbs 16:3)
- 06:00 – 07:20 Reset #3: Remember your unique contributions (strategic alignment, passion and engagement)
- 07:20 – 09:50 Reset #4: Serve your team beyond expectations (leadership perspective, Philippians 2:4)
- 09:50 – 12:30 Reset #5: Deliver results that move the needle (clarifying impact, work-life health, Colossians 3)
- 12:30 – 14:20 Invitation to portfolio build sessions and how they support clarity and action
- 14:20 – 15:00 Final encouragement: what you can control vs. what you can’t; showing up with hope
Recommended
![What’s Your Authority Score? [The 5-Factor Test] image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=112,quality=85/image-files/630c9f06819f8b3dba5fa460/cfbaccba-f587-45de-a41f-e2c99c15e2a5.png)
![The Audience Growth Engine [Full Framework] image](https://media.zencastr.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=112,quality=85/image-files/630c9f06819f8b3dba5fa460/46b84fd1-e856-4687-9aee-6b4a7e0bc7ff.png)
Transcript
Intro
00:00:08
Ken Freire
Welcome to Buried Talent, the show for young professionals that tears down false beliefs about faith and work so you can unbury your God-given talent right where you are.
00:00:19
Ken Freire
I'm Ken Freire, here with my co-host Patrick Lowndes, and today we're talking about probation anxiety is real, and here's how to beat it. And Patrick, the reason we're talking about this is because right now there's looming layoffs.
00:00:35
Ken Freire
There's a ton of people who are afraid that they could lose their job any minute. So they're just working and doing a lot of busy stuff and feeling really anxious about what's going to happen to them.
00:00:48
Patrick
Yeah. I mean, friends are getting laid off. I mean, it's just, it's really difficult. So the false belief every episode we try to hit is if I just keep busy enough, like I'll prove my worth.
00:01:00
Ken Freire
Yeah.
00:01:00
Patrick
And we just want to remind you, like, first of all, like as a believer, like you are not defined, your identity is not defined by what you do. You're a human being, you be in Christ, you're not a human doing.
00:01:10
Patrick
So God doesn't need your performance, but what he does want is for you to get aligned with the company you're at and to really step up and add value like he told us to when he said, love me with all your strength, love me with all your mind. We're going to talk about what that looks like today. So you might be giving it all at your work, at your job, but hopefully this episode gives you a little bit of confidence to shift away from working from a place of fear.
00:01:35
Patrick
Right. And this anxiety of some of you might be in a 90 day probation period. Like, they going to just cut me after 90 days? But this is still relevant if you've been working for one or two years. Now, feels like everyone's on probation to some extent. Right, Ken?
00:01:47
Patrick
The layoffs happen.
00:01:47
Ken Freire
Oh, yeah. Especially with AI. You know, everybody's like, oh, is my job on the line now? Can AI do my job? Or they're just trying to figure out how to, the whole economy just feels a little shaky sometimes in certain industries. So people are like, maybe it's my time.
00:02:04
Patrick
Yep, exactly. And don't know if heard this term before, I was just researching like this task masking term, right? It's like when you're looking and appearing busy and sending emails and like looking like you're doing meaningful stuff just out of fear, like, oh no, like I'm here, like I'm needed, right? And it's just an interesting way to like mask like a more shallow reality that you don't really maybe embrace some of what you're there for, or even maybe you thought you did, but maybe that's shifting now.
00:02:29
Patrick
So we're going to just hit on five really practical ways to kind of just give you a reset to just get fired up about your job again and how you can add the most value to your job. So you could be, again, a couple weeks into your job. You could be a couple years into your job.
00:02:46
Patrick
We just want this to be like a shot in the arm of like, Yeah, let's go. right.
00:02:51
Ken Freire
Let's do it. So Patrick, I think you have the first Tell us about the first reset.
00:02:54
Patrick
Let's get after you. Yeah. Number one. So there's five resets. First one is clarify the mission that you are on. There is this interesting stat put out there by Effectory in 2021.
00:03:06
Patrick
And they said that employees with clear role expectations will be 53% more efficient and 27% more effective. boosting their overall performance by 25%. So like, if you just get clear on the mission that you are, people love it.
00:03:20
Patrick
Like if you're in a company and someone is like gung ho about the mission, you will stand out from your peers that might be like, that's an old tired mission. We always say that. But if you're jacked about the mission and excited about the mission,
00:03:33
Patrick
I mean, I think about Proverbs 29, right? Where there's no vision, people perish. So if you latch on to the company or organization vision, just meditate on that. Maybe pray about that. Like, God, how is this what we're doing in this industry for these clients?
00:03:48
Patrick
How can we make a difference in the world if we really like embraced our mission and our values as a company? So I would start with reinvigorate yourself, connect yourself with the mission that you're on.
00:03:59
Patrick
That's number one.
00:04:01
Ken Freire
Yeah, absolutely. And you might even ask yourself or ask your boss, like, how are we trying to accomplish the goal this week or the mission this week? And it just brings so much more energy to your own heart and to the people around you.
00:04:14
Ken Freire
Number two, it's double down on why they hired you. Gallup in 2024 says this, that only 45% of employees under 35 say they clearly know what's expected of them at work.
00:04:28
Patrick
Less than half?
00:04:28
Ken Freire
They, like... Less than half.
00:04:31
Patrick
Wow.
00:04:33
Ken Freire
So when that happens, you know, when there's uncertainty, there tends to be fear that comes along with that. And people get afraid. They're like, ooh, what should I do?
00:04:44
Ken Freire
And fear tells you to do everything. But wisdom says, do what you were designed to do. You know, Scripture talks about it this way in Proverbs 16, 3. Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established.
00:04:59
Ken Freire
So when you have your job at hand, the way you're designed, you just say, Lord, I'm going to give this all to you. The Lord's going be faithful to give you a clear path in what to do.
00:05:11
Ken Freire
And here's the reality. Your value isn't about doing more tasks. It's about solving a specific problem that you are hired to do. And that's the path that God will sometimes just remind you, like, what you called to do?
00:05:23
Ken Freire
What you supposed to do? If you feel really fuzzy right now about what your job is, here's a couple tips. Number one, go reread your job description. Make sure that's accurate, right? Number two, go talk to your manager, right? And number three, like, just talk to your peers. Like, make sure this is exactly where we're supposed to be going.
00:05:43
Ken Freire
The more you do these things, the more you remember what exactly you were called to do.
00:05:49
Patrick
Yeah, and that's a good segue to point three, which is, so here's what I'm supposed to be doing in my job. But here's just, again, personal differentiation. You're working a job, you're at company.
00:05:59
Patrick
Number three is this. Remember your unique contributions, right? There are things that you can do at this job God has gifted you that are different and better than what other people could bring to the job.
00:06:11
Patrick
So a tip that I learned from a friend of mine just done lots of 20, 30 years of consulting, he always said, if you align with what you're doing, your role, your job, your project, if you align it with a strategic imperative of the company, like something that is really big and important for the company, and you're like, well, I'm doing this so that we can accomplish that, that big strategic thing, it's going to be hard for them to be like, oh, yeah, well, we don't need Ken.
00:06:36
Patrick
But if Ken's like, no, like I'm doing this thing so that I can get this strategic thing accomplished, which is at the executive or the board level. Like if you don't know what your company's strategic priorities are, it's hard to position yourself as part being a part of here's my specific contributions to solving that. And here's what that's here's what I think that should look like from my role.
00:06:56
Patrick
Right. And having that conversation, kind of elevates your value beyond just your job title, but it elevates your value is I'm actually here to help operate against that larger vision. So number four, don't forget or number three, don't forget your unique contributions.
00:07:11
Patrick
And just one little stat on that, I should say 75% of employees with clear role alignment, they are more passionate and engaged at work.
00:07:12
Ken Freire
Thank
00:07:21
Patrick
I mean, you better believe it, right? Because you see where you fit in the bigger picture. So bring those unique contributions toward that bigger picture. But Ken, give us number four.
00:07:31
Ken Freire
Yeah, number four, as before I do that, think about the first three as like laying the foundation of your internal heart posture of what you need to do.
00:07:38
Patrick
That's good.
00:07:39
Ken Freire
Now, the other two are going the outward expressions of like, now what we actually make happen? Because you could do all the mind, like the resets, but if you don't actually do something about it, it could fall flat.
00:07:44
Patrick
Yeah.
00:07:50
Ken Freire
So number four is this, serve your team beyond what they expect. Okay, here's a great stat from Clear Company in 2024. They said, 46% of employees say they want more feedback and growth opportunities when they feel they can contribute beyond their role, engagement and retention rise sharply.
00:08:10
Ken Freire
Now, this is fascinating because most people, what they think is, if I just stay in my lane and I just do what I'm asked, then everything is going to be all right.
00:08:20
Ken Freire
But one, like if you put on your executive leadership hat, we're always, as an executive leader myself and business owner and Patrick has been in those same shoes, right? We're always looking for the people who are willing to step up to do something different and to rise to the occasion of something else.
00:08:34
Patrick
Yeah. Yep.
00:08:37
Ken Freire
We don't just want people who stay in the lane.
00:08:39
Ken Freire
There's a time and place for that. But we're also looking for the hungry people, the humble people, the smart people who are saying, I'm going to do something greater than just this role. Now, while you're doing that, sometimes you may take on more expectations than you are, that's in your job description.
00:08:58
Ken Freire
Don't forget about your actual job. So you still got to do your job, but while you're doing your job,
00:09:04
Ken Freire
Do other things and quietly exceed them. Don't be boisterous about, look at all the things I can do. Just start executing your stuff.
00:09:10
Patrick
Yeah.
00:09:13
Ken Freire
And the quickest way for you to calm anxiety at work is to shift your focus from you to others. So if you start serving others, you start working on the mission of the business and just start picking up more responsibilities,
00:09:28
Ken Freire
man, all of a sudden, you're going to see so much more beauty at work and people are going to notice that. And especially if you're serving others, people are going to notice that. Philippians 2.4 says it this way.
00:09:39
Ken Freire
Look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others. So when you start looking at those people, man, serving, what it does is it quenches fear and it actually starts to get you to a place of courage and strength and humility.
00:09:50
Patrick
That's
00:09:55
Patrick
so good. If you're listening to right now, are you feeling like just the confidence level rising? Like, are you feeling again, like the anxiety that might be there?
00:10:05
Patrick
Like the enemy wants to just destroy your mindset with fear and help you work out of that fear.
00:10:06
Ken Freire
Thank you.
00:10:09
Patrick
But let me tell you, like, if you do these things, you align, you get after it, serve people. This is how God is using believers in the workplace to just shift the tide on this kind of stuff.
00:10:19
Patrick
But if you're doing all those things and you still suck at your job and you're not actually delivering results, you're probably going to get canned either So number five is deliver results, not just busy work, but results that move the needle.
00:10:33
Patrick
So ask yourself this question, how am moving the needle in my role, the things that I'm responsible for, and then at a company level, is there anything that I could do to help the whole company be more successful?
00:10:44
Patrick
It's a big question. And if you don't really know what that looks like in your role, that's an awesome question to ask to your manager, your boss. Like, hey, I know this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm focused on that, but I'm also curious, how else could I be helpful? Like, what are the things that would move the needle the most? Like if I could, I know this is this goal here. This is the product I'm working on.
00:11:04
Patrick
How does that thing help the whole company? Like connect the dots for me. I think it might be this, but could be Y. It could be X, could be Y. Bring your ideas about how you want to drive results that move the needle to your boss and you will be surprised.
00:11:19
Patrick
Just again, bosses want people that are biting off more, that are not like becoming workaholics, but saying, hey, what can I do beyond just what you're telling me?
00:11:31
Patrick
I don't just want to be a yes man, a yes woman. I want to be a yes and here's what I'm also thinking. Right. And so the stat there, 74 percent of full time employees say mental health talks are appropriate at work.
00:11:43
Patrick
But only 58 percent of people feel safe having them. Right. So when you're talking about, again, driving results that are pushing the company forward, it's important to not sit back and say, man, like,
00:11:57
Patrick
I just, I can't talk about like how healthy I can deliver results in this role. Sometimes it's not a safe place to talk about that with your boss. Maybe you're in one of those companies where you're like, no, can't bring up that work-life balance stuff. I can't bring up the results that I'm delivering or not delivering.
00:12:12
Patrick
Go talk with a friend about it. Go process that out. And so find a safe place. So when you show up to work,
00:12:17
Ken Freire
Thank you.
00:12:18
Patrick
You can truly be about, I'm whole in Christ, and I'm here to serve, and I'm here to deliver results that matter. And Colossians 3 reminds us of this, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for man.
00:12:32
Patrick
So the goal isn't to just outwork everybody. We want to, if we can, out-serve people with clarity, with purpose, and alignment. So, Ken, that's what I had for you on those five points. Thanks for helping me walk through them.
00:12:45
Ken Freire
Yeah, absolutely. And for those of you who are listening to this, you may be wondering like, okay, how do I implement all these things? And you may still be anxious. You may still be worried about like your job.
00:12:56
Ken Freire
Listen, we go on regularly in our community and we do something called a portfolio build where we're helping you grow and build your skill sets. So if you feel like there's a gap,
00:13:07
Ken Freire
in being able to move the needle or take action on certain things. Come join us. It's completely free for you to jump on this. If you go to our community, it's going to be in the show notes and you could jump into one of these portfolio builds and we will help you get clarity so that you know the next action steps that you should take.
00:13:26
Ken Freire
So you don't feel like, worried about, am I moving the needle or not? You now have better assurance that like what you're doing matters and it's actually helping you grow your skill sets to close the gap and actually bring results to the business.
00:13:37
Patrick
Yeah.
00:13:42
Patrick
And can I also just clarify there for you, portfolio build, if you're listening, was talking about, is there a project that you're doing your job or maybe a side hustle thing that trying to work on that you want some help getting like to a four week little action plan about, hey, I wanna do a project. I wanna get some accountability. I wanna process about that.
00:13:58
Patrick
I wanna see if this can help strengthen how I show up at work or maybe help strengthen what I'm doing on a side hustle.
00:14:03
Ken Freire
yeah
00:14:03
Patrick
So that's what we when we say portfolio. It's more, can I get a project to add to my portfolio? to that. So I want to bring us home though, because we know you can't control layoffs, right?
00:14:14
Patrick
But here's what you can control, how you faithfully show up, how you serve, how you clarify, how you bring energy, how you bring the optimism and the hope that we have as Christians, this job is not our final hope.
00:14:26
Patrick
This company mission is not the ultimate one. You can come alongside of those things as a believer and bring hope that packs a punch. So thanks for being with us on Buried Talent.
00:14:38
Patrick
And we will talk to you next time.