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When I first came across the word kakorrhaphiophobia, I thought it might be one of those obscure terms you learn once and never use again.

But the meaning stopped me in my tracks:

an irrational, intense fear of failure or defeat.

It turns out, this fear is more common–and more consequential–than we might admit, especially in workplaces that say they support continuous improvement but don't act in ways that support it.