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ny established leaders will credit their success by using fear as a strategy, but what does that really do for the people that work for you and work with you? The strategy may work, but it can have repercussions for the work environment, especially in the long run for the company. Learning to lead by example is important; not with fear.
Fear as a strategy will hurt people in long run and create a bubble around you as a leader. It can create stress for everyone – “Leading by fear may look like it increases productivity in the short run, but if it results in staff becoming more stresses, making more mistakes and rushing their work, becoming burnt out and ultimately having more leave then long-term productivity might be hit hard” (Morgan).
It can also kill creativity within your work group. “Leading by fear could potentially have enormous repercussions to the development and growth of employees and the company as a whole” (Morgan). Employees who are lead by fear will not be more creative because they will fear their leader when its time to give opinion on something or how to improve something in the work environment. Therefore, the company will suffer in the long run since nothing will be improved the way the employs think it should be.
Eventually, the employees will take their talents somewhere else and then the company will suffer even more. “Leadership by fear leads to unmotivated, demoralized, and unhappy workers, who will not want to work for you” (Morgan). The company may struggle when trying to hire new employees since word of mouth may hinder that process.
There are managers out there that say they don’t lead by fear, yet employees will be afraid to confront them. Many leaders don’t know that they are using the fear strategy since their employees aren’t confronting them about it. “They use fear to control people instead of trusting their teammates and inspiring them to do great things” (Ryan). The leaders have a professional identity to keep hold of so they try not to go under that radar, but they may get in over their heads with the fear without knowing it.
Always go with respect when leading since it can create a better work environment for not only your workers, but yourself. They won’t fear you, but they will respect you which is way better for the company itself. “Great leaders make those around them better. They find ways to discover the best in people and enable their fill potential. Their energy is infectious; they inspire others to go above and beyond the call of duty without coercion” (Fear VS. Respect).
In conclusion, leading in fear is not the best for the employees since it can create stress that may not even be warranted and stop creative flow which in return can hurt the company in the long run since they are afraid of giving suggestions on how to improve the company.
Morgan, Steve P. “Six Dangers of Leading by Fear And Intimidation.” Sooper Articles, 17 Aug. 2011, www.sooperarticles.com/self-improvement-articles/leadership-articles/six-dangers-leading-fear-intimidation-418903.html.
Ryan, Liz. “The Five Characteristics Of Fear-Based Leaders.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Nov. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2015/11/25/the-five-characteristics-of-fear-based-leaders/.
“Fear vs. Respect: Why Leading Through Fear Is Never the Answer.” Tom Flick, 6 Mar. 2017, tomflick.com/2015/12/02/fear-vs-respect-why-leading-through-fear-is-never-the-answer/.
