Too many bosses seem to believe that their job is to instill fear in their workforce, writes Mike Myatt. That may work when it comes to achieving short-term goals, but it'll make your workers hate you -- and the moment they sense weakness, they'll abandon you in droves. "If you believe that instilling fear in your employees is a good thing, you may be a tyrannical bully, but you are certainly not an effective leader," Myatt writes.
This from N2Growth:
...How do you tell if your employees respect you or fear you? Review the 5 items below:
A Team of Yes-men: Feared leaders either surround themselves with like-minded people, or train people to share their views in a vacuum. Either way they lose…Great leaders value the opinions of their team whether or not said views happen to be in concurrence with their own beliefs.
Lack of Interaction: If top management, and staff don’t proactively seek your advice and input then you have a respect problem. They either don’t value your contributions, or they know from experience that you’ll treat their inquiry in a belittling fashion. Over time, many fear-based leaders unknowingly train their team to think: “Why even try if there is no upside? The boss will never go for that.”
Lack of Feedback: If as a leader you don’t subject yourself to a 360 review process, then you are not earnestly looking for personal growth and development opportunities. Here’s an ego check – if you do utilize a 360 review, and all the responses are positive, evaluate whether this has occurred because you are feared and are thus the recipient of insincere flattery, or because you have the loyalty and respect of those you lead.
Revolving Door: If you either can’t attract or retain tier-one talent, you are not an effective leader who has earned the respect and loyalty of your team…In fact, upon closer examination you’ll find that you probably don’t have a team. Sad but true…real talent won’t be attracted to, or remain engaged with leaders who operate on fear-based tactics.
Poor Performance: Leaders who have the respect of their team will outperform those that don’t. Leaders who attempt to use command and control tactics without the necessary underpinnings of real leadership principles will simply not do well. If your organization is not thriving and growing, then the first thing that should occur is a long look in the mirror…Begin your triage by first evaluating your leadership qualities or the lack thereof.
4 comments:
Kalleigh Norval
EDF 203
In the News
22 November 2010
Leadership and Loyalty
This article is about whether or not instilling fear into your employees as a boss is a good or bad thing. I personally do not think that is a good way to establish a work relationship. If you are scared to be anything but perfect for your boss, not only will that stress you out, but you will feel so much more pressure to make sure nothing ever goes wrong. Sometimes bosses think that by being ultra strict, that they are going to gain more respect from their employees, but most of the time, the workers are literally just afraid to be around them, or disrespect them. There are tips describing whether or not your workers are afraid of you and the one I liked the most was the revolving door. It states that “If you either can’t attract or retain tier-one talent, you are not an effective leader who has earned the respect and loyalty of your team…In fact; upon closer examination you’ll find that you probably don’t have a team.” Would you enjoy spending office hours alone while your employees cower in the corner talking about you? I don’t think so. That is why I think that bosses should have respect for their employees rather than put them in a place of fear. In turn, they will get the respect they deserve right back. I leave you with one last tip, poor performance.
“Leaders who have the respect of their team will outperform those that don’t. Leaders who attempt to use command and control tactics without the necessary underpinnings of real leadership principles will simply not do well. If your organization is not thriving and growing, then the first thing that should occur is a long look in the mirror…Begin your triage by first evaluating your leadership qualities or the lack thereof.”
Being a leader is always going to be hard work. At times it can be difficult due to the variation of people and their opinions. Based off of this article i believe it is very important to understand the difference between being a good leader/boss and just being forceful. Having the respect of the people you are working with is a huge issue. This is because you do not want people constantly defying you or being completely and utterly scared of you. Having a good balance between the two is important to your work life. This can tie into a classroom setting too because it shows how a teacher/student relationship should be. When students are terrified of their teacher they are less likely to express themselves, which i think is very important. Also, if the teacher is too lenient the students will just walk all over them. In general, i believe that being a leader means that you stand out and are known as the "go to" person. Having this title means being a good person, being their for the people who need you, and always keeping that balance of stern and lenient i talked about. The work place is not the place for a bully or a push over. I always count on my boss being their to tell me what i need to get done during my time on the job. We have a positive relationship, which is truly important, yet i constantly know what her expectations are of me while i am working. This concept can be applied to many positions in life.
May each principal in the Fayette County Public Schools read this. Even though you are doing what Mr. Silberman wants you to do, you are losing the respect of your staff.
Jeremy Partin
Working as a leader isn't easy. You can't be everyone's friend. It is a benefit to be liked though. If you are feared, then most likely you are not going to be liked.A leader has to be a little in between being feared and being somewhat lenient.
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