Leaders Must Drive Fear Out of the Workplace

by Terry Wall

Several years ago, we traveled to Beijing to visit our older son, who was in a Study Abroad program. We were impressed with the beautiful sights, the food, and the Chinese people. But, beneath the beauty and charm lurked a climate of fear that reminded me of workplaces I’ve seen, and still see.

Guidebooks: For instance, a guidebook mentioned that in Tiananmen Square undercover secret police mingle with tourists to make sure that nobody distributes anti-government literature. We did see groups of Chinese military marching in the square, but nothing to indicate secret police.

Another guidebook recommended not discussing politics with the Chinese, because local Chinese would suspect us of working with the secret police, trying to entrap them. I didn’t want to create an international incident, so I stayed away from political discussions.

I did watch the Chinese news on the only English channel on TV. The Chinese newscasters spoke pretty good English, but no story expressed even a hint of criticism of the Chinese government, or any of its policies. I kept looking for Jay Leno or The Daily Show, but was out of luck.

Some workplaces are similar. On the surface everything looks great, but the longer you are in an organization, the more you observe things below the surface, things that indicate a climate of fear. And when fear permeates an organization (or a country), you lose information that is essential for making sound decisions.

Examples: I know of an organization where the CEO rules by fear. In meetings with executive leadership, when the CEO makes a “cutting” remark about a person’s opinion or a particular topic, the others know not to mention that topic for fear of being the next recipient of a cutting remark.

When this CEO expresses a negative opinion about a topic, nobody is willing to say anything positive about that topic for fear of incurring the CEO’s wrath.

Contrast that with another organization I was in recently. An executive described the environment as “refreshing and energizing,” because the CEO thrives on hearing all sides of an issue. The CEO wants people to present opposing opinions, so that the CEO has enough information to make the right decision.

Rant: As leaders, we must drive fear out of the workplace. We must be receptive to new ideas and methods, to opposing opinions. The people around us must know that expressing themselves honestly is safe, and that such expression is essential to the continued growth of the organization, and of individuals.

We must also disclose what’s on our mind, and our intentions, because such disclosure eliminates “hidden agendas.” People left in the dark are surprised, and then angry, when the truth comes out. And that anger leads to fear.

People don’t do their best work when they’re worrying about hidden agendas, about offending the boss by expressing a contrary opinion. With this kind of fear, people are too busy worrying about survival, and trying to figure out what’s really going on, rather than concentrating on doing the best job they can.

Leaders lead by example, and if you, as the leader, are promoting openness, receptivity, and disclosure, you’ll be driving fear out of the workplace. You’ll probably have more fun, too.

Final Example: When visiting the Great Wall, our two sons got to the top before we did (the Great Wall requires great exertion!). By the time we got there, our older son was playing hackey sack with an official-looking Chinese guard.

As they continued to play this improvised game, they were laughing and having fun. A crowd gathered around them, watched, and applauded. I wanted to get a photograph of the two of them, and our son asked the guard’s permission, which he granted.

But as soon as I started to take the photograph, the guard stood up straight, put his walkie-talkie on his front pocket for all to see, and looked very serious. He probably didn’t want anyone to get the impression he was having fun.

Questions: What are you doing to drive fear out of your workplace? How can you promote more openness, receptivity, and disclosure? How much fun do you have in your workplace?