Monday Musing - Leading By Fear

“…We can’t do that. They might get mad at us…”

“…That person will complain…”

“…They’ll think it’s unfair…”

“…We don’t think it will work…”

Good Morning Leaders,

A very close friend of mine recently shared their biggest new leadership pet peeve: leading by fear – making decisions based on fear or anticipated fallout.

A relatable scenario is this: You have several direct reports, however one of them can’t seem to write clear/direct documents that go to customers. You notice this trend and pull them aside to give them specific instructions to practice and improve their writing to bring them up to standard. Makes sense right?

Now, your coworkers (and boss) find out and says: “don’t single out one person like that, they might complain and think it’s unfair.”

This my friends in leading by fear. The instruction and reasoning for the practice is both well-intentioned and designed to bring the employee up to a standard. There was nothing unfair, unreasonable, immoral, unethical, or illegal about the direction – however strong opinions about the PERCEPTION of how it COULD have looked.

“In my experience, the boogeyman almost NEVER comes.” said Marc Delao, a prior Commanding Officer of mine, when talking through something similar leading his organization. I’ve taken this quote with me over the past four years.

My point?

Check your moral compass. Ignore feedback that feels fear based. If you feel you’re completely in the right – take (calculated) risks. You’re smart and talented, you’ve probably got a good idea what needs to happen.

Disclaimer: When dealing with employee issues consult your HR or similar to ensure you’re following actual laws and regulations, and not just opinion.

How about you?

Have you made decisions based more on the fear of consequence versus chasing the positive outcome?

If so, how would you want to approach it differently?

How would your boss/colleagues react to the above scenario?

Cheers!

Joe