•The atmosphere of fear hinders the flow of creativity and diminishes productivity.
Leadership is a scary concept. And here’s why? Leadership steps the stage for everything, good or bad – it sets the tone. Leadership determines outcomes.
Leadership is oxygen. This means that leaders can create an atmosphere in any group. The atmosphere determines the energy level and the level of energy determines the output of the people in the organization. So, the question is: as a leader, what atmosphere are you creating? Sadly, many leaders do not understand this dynamic and make the mistake of creating an atmosphere that consists of these three toxic elements.
Fear: Many business leaders believe that the best way to keep their businesses running is to create fear in their organizations. They believe it is a good way to have control over people and keep things in check. These leaders use tactics like threats of termination, killing employee morale by constantly putting them down and rubbishing their ideas by workers, etc. This is a mistake and eventually backfires.
The atmosphere of fear hinders the flow of creativity and diminishes productivity. When in fear, people are tensed and cannot give their best. Good leadership is not about fear and control. It is about creating an atmosphere that brings out the best in people. Good leaders do not use fear to control people; they inspire people to give their best.
Disrespect: This is another huge mistake that some business leaders make. They don’t respect their employees and display it in various ways. These include: speaking to and treating employees like kids or subjects. Your employees are adults that deserve respect. In fact, in the workplace, respect is non-negotiable. If people feel that you don’t respect them, they won’t give you their best.
You show disrespect when you don’t provide adequate tools for your employees to do their job, and in turn, blame them for poor performance. Here, you mess with their confidence and dignity because you have set them up to fail – and the organization suffers for it.
Distrust: This is common with business leaders who are micromanagers. They don’t trust people to do their assigned tasks and would hover over them as they work. This makes their workers uncomfortable and affects productivity. Sadly, this is a big mistake because trust is essential for a healthy work relationship. If you don’t trust your team, delegating would be difficult which will, in turn, slow down business operations. Good leaders take the time to cultivate relationships in the workplace that grows trust and increase productivity.
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