Are you a manager who leads through fear and intimidation? Unfortunately, a lot of leaders do this. Sometimes it even works. If your staff fears you, you might get more out of them. Alternatively, you might find that they’ll just “work to the rules” – you’ll never get a hundred per cent out of them. What are the disadvantages of the “my way or the highway” approach?

Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out. ~ Ronald Reagan

Think about the way you respond to intimidation, and ask yourself if fear is really the way you want to motivate your team. It might get you results in the short term, but what about the long-term consequences? What do you suppose could happen if your management approach is intimidating and unapproachable? Read on, and consider the consequences of an overbearing management approach.

Here are some of the things that could happen.

1. You Could Kill Creativity

Bosses who rule by intimidation don’t encourage risk-taking. People are so afraid that any sort of “outside the box” thinking will lead to punishment or other adverse consequences, they avoid doing anything at all. There’s no innovation, and no growth.

2. You Could Reduce Productivity

A boss who takes the “do what I tell you when I tell you to do it” approach may think that productivity is enhanced, and in the short term, that might even happen. Over the long term, though, the reality is that workers will try to work faster, make more mistakes, experience incredible stress, and ultimately burn out and become unproductive.

3. You Could Destroy Communication

Do you really want employees who just say, “Yes boss,” “No boss,” and “Whatever you say, boss”? A crew of “yes men” isn’t going to give you the productivity you want and need. Imagine that you suggest a way of doing things that just isn’t going to work – hey, you’re not perfect! A long-term employee knows that your strategy is inherently flawed, but he or she is so afraid of you that the response is, “Sure, whatever you want.” Instead of getting valuable input that could result in better productivity or even averting disaster, you get what you say you want. To your detriment.

4. You’ll Lose Good People

If your staff ends up being sick to death of you and your tyrannical ways, what do you think will happen? You’re right! They’ll go looking for other jobs. If your management style causes people to feel demoralized, unmotivated and generally miserable, you know what? You’re not the only game in town.

5. What Do You Do?

No one’s saying that you have to pander to a disaffected, disgruntled workforce. You don’t have to be soft, and you don’t have to tuck your workers in with their teddy bears at night. But if you want to motivate people, you can’t be overbearing and inflexible.

Think about this – didn’t you hire your people because you assumed that they had certain skills and qualifications? Use those skills, and remember why you chose those people in the first place. You can still expect high standards, but you don’t have to be a despot. A good approach is to be patient, calm, compassionate, and a good listener. This makes for employees who are efficient, committed, and happy. Leading by fear isn’t leading at all – it’s just exerting force.

Summary

Can you motivate through fear? Of course you can. If people are afraid, they’ll comply with what you want. But will they perform to their fullest capability? Probably not. Fear makes for compliance, but it doesn’t bring respect, and it will never get you quality results. It’s far better to have someone work effectively for you because it’s what they want to do than it is to have them do it because they’re terrified of the consequences.

Effective leaders empower. They don’t intimidate. Build trust, communicate effectively, and build the kind of team that wants to follow you.

We value your feedback; please leave a comment.