What is the first emotion you feel when you receive an email, text, or phone call from your boss that says, “I need to speak with you?”
Is it interest? Joy? Eagerness? Or a positive sense that something good is about to transpire?
Or is it dread? Suspicion? Concern? A foreboding sense of doom or even outright fear?
My experience has shown that most people’s reaction is the latter. Their first thought tends to be, “Did I do something wrong?”
Why is that? Part of it has to do with human nature.
Our brains are hardwired to be threat-detecting machines. We are constantly assessing our environment for threats and making determinations about potential impacts to our well-being. If we perceive something could harm us, then we go into fight, flight, or freeze mode. It’s not always logical and we have to train ourselves to react in more thoughtful ways, but it’s a reality of the human condition.
Another reason we react negatively to that simple inquiry is we’ve been conditioned to expect bad news from our boss. Think about your personal experience in the workplace. Have most of your impromptu encounters with the boss been because they’ve wanted to catch you doing something right and praise you, or are they because the boss needed to point out something that wasn’t quite right? Unfortunately, it’s usually the latter.
What’s driving leaders to create this culture of fear? Well, it’s fear. No duh!
According to a recent survey, 33 percent of managers lead with fear. As the study’s authors point out, if you were to ask a manager if they lead with fear, most will say no. But when you ask them about the fear-based sentiments they feel throughout the day (e.g., suspicion, blame, imposter syndrome, micromanagement, unwillingness to receive feedback), it becomes clear that fear is unconsciously driving their behavior.
Ken Blanchard and I address this topic in our book, Simple Truths of Leadership: 52 Ways to Be a Servant Leader and Build Trust. Simple truth number 33 simply says, “Fear is the enemy of trust.”
I’ve observed many leaders who manage people through fear. They think pointing out mistakes, being critical, or even yelling at team members will get them to perform better. However, the long-term result is more likely to be people who either tune out the leader or fail to take initiative because they are afraid to make mistakes.
Even if you aren’t the stereotypical loud, in-your-face type of boss, you may be casting a shadow of fear over your team without realizing it. Your positional authority alone is enough to create a certain amount of anxiety in the hearts of your employees. Mix in other low-key, fear-based behaviors like hoarding information or being passive-aggressive, and you’ve got a recipe for creating a culture of fear.
So, what’s the antidote to fear? It’s safety grounded in trust.
In our recently published workbook, Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook: A 52-Week Game Plan for Becoming a Trusted Servant Leader, Ken and I share several strategies leaders can use to build trust and create a psychologically safe environment.
First, be consistent in behaving in a trustworthy manner. Trust doesn’t just mysteriously happen. It’s a skill that leaders need to learn and develop to foster trust with their team. Consistently displaying trustworthiness allows your team to confidently know what they can expect from you, whereas inconsistent behavior breeds doubt and suspicion and erodes trust.
Second, treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Rather than assign blame, examine what was learned and what can be done differently in the future. Our friend, Garry Ridge, former CEO of WD-40, modeled this principle during his career. His treatment of mistakes as learning opportunities transformed what was once a fearful, risk-averse culture into one of innovation, trust, and safety.
A third strategy to create a culture of safety and trust is to communicate clearly, openly, and as transparently as possible. Clear communication reduces misunderstandings, and sharing information shows that you trust people with knowing the details.
A final strategy to pursue is to share the “why” behind decisions. I’ve learned that in the absence of knowing the logic and reasons behind a decision, people will make up their own versions of the truth, which is usually more negative than reality.
So, examine yourself and explore the deeper motivations behind your leadership. Do you find instances where you’ve led with fear? If you don’t, then you probably lie to yourself about other things in your life!
Which of these strategies might you pursue to eliminate fear and build trust and safety with your team? What will be your first steps?
To support you in the effort to become a trusted servant leader, I invite you to join me for a monthly book club on the Simple Truths of Leadership Playbook. Each month we will unpack a handful of the simple truths and discuss how to incorporate them into our daily actions. There’s no cost for the book club (other than purchasing your own Simple Truths Playbook) and it’s open to all members of the Blanchard Community (free to join). Click here to join.
I hope to see you there!
