People may work because they need a paycheck.
But fear does not create loyalty.
Threats do not create excellence.
And intimidation is not leadership.
You can frighten people into obeying you for a while…
but you cannot frighten them into giving you their best.
I haven’t seen fear management up front and this close for years now.
WHY?
Because as a rule, fear management doesn’t have a very long lifespan. It may produce temporary obedience, but it has a weak foundation. It feeds on human vulnerabilities—money, insecurity, low self-esteem and the fear of losing a job.
Take away someone’s financial security and add desperation and you have created fertile ground for fear.
But ask yourself:
Why would anyone WANT to work for someone who keeps them in a state of fear, domination and high stress for eight hours a day just to earn a paycheck?
Nobody wakes up saying:
“I can’t wait to go to work and be afraid all day.”
STATE OF FEAR
Growing up around fear can make fear seem normal.
Sometimes it gets handed down from generation to generation until intimidation becomes confused with authority.
The person practicing fear management may even be fearful within themselves.
Fear covered with pride can look like power.
But it isn’t power.
It is insecurity wearing a management badge.
BEING A MEANY…REMEMBER?
Let’s make this simple.
Fear management can often be described by an old-fashioned word:
MEANNESS.
Being cruel.
Being unnecessarily harsh.
Humiliating people.
Threatening people.
Making people afraid to make mistakes.
That isn’t leadership.
A manager has authority over someone’s work.
That does not give them ownership over someone’s dignity.
MORALE BOOSTER STORY
There are two ways to get people rowing in the same direction.
You can say:
“We are all in this boat together. Let’s communicate, help one another, improve where we need to improve and get somewhere together.”
That creates teamwork.
Or you can say:
“If you people don’t start producing, somebody is getting fired. I don’t care who. I’ll be watching.”
That may create movement too.
But don’t confuse movement with commitment.
One is rowing together.
The other is rowing because somebody is afraid of the whip.
THICK & HEAVY
You can sometimes FEEL fear management before anyone tells you it exists.
Walk into certain workplaces and the atmosphere tells the story.
Everything feels tight.
People are guarded.
Conversations are mechanical.
Employees look over their shoulders.
Then the manager walks into the room.
Everybody stiffens.
Talking stops.
People suddenly look extremely busy.
The manager leaves…
and the room exhales.
Pay attention to that.
A healthy workplace should not have to recover every time the boss leaves the room.
UH-OH…I DON’T KNOW
Fear also destroys judgment.
People become afraid to make ordinary decisions because they fear being blamed if the decision turns out wrong.
Eventually they stop thinking for themselves.
They stop offering ideas.
They stop taking reasonable initiative.
They learn that the safest answer is:
“I don’t know.”
Or:
“I better ask the boss.”
And management may wonder why nobody takes responsibility anymore.
Perhaps responsibility was punished out of them.
THE BOSS CARRIES A WHIP?
The whip today usually isn’t made of leather.
It can be humiliation.
Threats.
Constant surveillance.
Impossible quotas.
Public criticism.
Job insecurity.
Or the feeling that one mistake could suddenly make you expendable.
You can force someone to smile.
You can require them to recite a greeting.
You can time how quickly they perform a task.
You can tell them exactly what to say to every customer.
But there is something you cannot manufacture:
GENUINENESS.
Customers can feel the difference too.
STOPWATCH TRAINING
Efficiency matters.
Standards matter.
Accountability matters.
Of course they do.
But there is a difference between having standards and treating human beings like machinery.
When employees spend more energy protecting themselves from management than serving customers, something has gone terribly wrong.
STRANGER TO STRANGER…HOW STRANGE
We have all experienced the employee who gives us the mandatory corporate greeting.
The words are correct.
The smile is technically there.
But something is missing.
The human being.
Real service happens when employees have enough freedom, confidence and dignity to actually BE human beings.
People respond to sincerity.
Fear produces scripts.
Respect produces relationships.
THE FEAR MANAGEMENT CURE
A good manager should train.
Guide.
Correct.
Counsel.
Encourage.
Set standards.
Hold people accountable.
And when necessary, make difficult decisions.
Leadership does not mean avoiding discipline.
It means discipline has a PURPOSE.
The purpose should be improvement—not domination.
A strong manager brings out the talent, skill and contribution of the person who was hired.
They don’t spend their day proving who’s boss.
Their people already know who’s boss.
The question is whether they RESPECT who’s boss.
WHO NEEDS HELP?
If an entire staff is frightened, confused, hesitant and constantly worried about making mistakes, perhaps management should stop asking:
“What’s wrong with these employees?”
And ask another question:
“What are we teaching them to become?”
Fear travels downhill.
But so does respect.
So does encouragement.
So does dignity.
And eventually all of them reach the customer.
That means the culture created behind the counter eventually walks through the front door.
FINAL THOUGHT
There is a tremendous difference between being feared and being respected.
Fear says:
“Do this because something bad will happen if you don’t.”
Leadership says:
“Let’s do this correctly because there is something worthwhile we are trying to accomplish.”
One controls people.
The other develops them.
If you are responsible for other human beings, remember something:
Their paycheck may purchase their time.
It does not purchase their dignity.
Lead accordingly.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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