Page 171 - leadership-experience-2008

CikguOnline
CikguOnline
152 PART 3: THE PERSONAL SIDE OF LEADERSHIP
work so that their lives are richer and more balanced. Leaders can rely on nega-
tive emotions such as fear to fuel productive work, but by doing so they may
slowly destroy people’s spirits, which ultimately is bad for employees and the
organization. 60

Fear in Organizations
Action Memo
The workplace can hold many kinds of fear, including fear of fail-
ure, fear of change, fear of personal loss, and fear of the boss. All
As a leader, you can choose to lead with
of these fears can prevent people from doing their best, from taking
love, not with fear. You can show respect
risks, and from challenging and changing the status quo. Fear gets in
and trust toward followers and help people
the way of people feeling good about their work, themselves, and the
learn, grow, and contribute their best to
organization. It creates an atmosphere in which people feel powerless,
achieve the organization’s vision.
so that their confi dence, commitment, enthusiasm, imagination, and
motivation are diminished. 61
Aspects of Fear A particularly damaging aspect of fear in the workplace is that
it can weaken trust and communication. Employees feel threatened by repercus-
sions if they speak up about work-related concerns. A survey of employees in
22 organizations around the country found that 70 percent of them “bit their
tongues” at work because they feared repercussions. Twenty-seven percent re-
ported that they feared losing their credibility or reputation if they spoke up.
Other fears reported were lack of career advancement, possible damage to the
relationship with their supervisor, demotion or losing their job, and being em-
barrassed or humiliated in front of others. When people are afraid to speak
62
up, important issues are suppressed and problems hidden. Employees are afraid
to talk about a wide range of issues. These “undiscussables” can range from the
poor performance of a coworker to concerns over benefi ts to suggestions for
organizational improvement. However, by far the largest category of undiscuss-
ables is the behavior of executives, particularly their interpersonal and relation-
ship skills. When fear is high, managers destroy the opportunity for feedback,
blinding them to reality and denying them the chance to correct damaging deci-
sions and behaviors.

Relationship with Leaders Leaders control the fear level in the organization.
We all know from personal experience that it is easier to report bad news to some
people than to others. A boss or teacher who is understanding and compassion-
ate is much easier to approach than one who is likely to blow up and scream at
us. The relationship between an employee and supervisor is the primary factor
determining the level of fear experienced at work. The legacy of fear and mistrust
associated with traditional hierarchies in which bosses gave orders and employees
jumped to obey “or else” still colors organizational life. Leaders are responsible
for creating a new environment that enables people to feel safe speaking their
minds. Leaders can act from love rather than fear to free employees and the orga-
nization from the chains of the past.

Bringing Love to Work
When leaders act from their own fear, they create fear in others. Organizations
have traditionally rewarded people for strong qualities such as rational thinking,
ambition, and competitiveness. These qualities are important, but their overem-
phasis has left many organizational leaders out of touch with their softer, caring,
creative capabilities, unable to make emotional connections with others and