Driving Fear Out of the Workplace

The eighth of W. Edwards Deming's fourteen points is "Drive fear out: employees must not be afraid to ask questions or take a position". Fear of losing credibility or a promotion, getting fired, or hurting a relationship all limit and corrupt employee performance, according to Kathleen D. Ryan and Daniel K. Oestreich. Scared workers lose pride and motivation, become defensive, seek revenge and hide failure. Managers often don't know how to put employees at ease, while some even use fear as a motivational tactic. The authors explain the sources of employee fear, and how to change these sources. Based on interviews with more than 250 people from 22 companies, the authors tell how to banish fear from all levels of an organization.
 
The eighth of W. Edwards Deming's fourteen points is "Drive fear out: employees must not be afraid to ask questions or take a position". Fear of losing credibility or a promotion, getting fired, or hurting a relationship all limit and corrupt employee performance, according to Kathleen D. Ryan and Daniel K. Oestreich. Scared workers lose pride and motivation, become defensive, seek revenge and hide failure. Managers often don't know how to put employees at ease, while some even use fear as a motivational tactic. The authors explain the sources of employee fear, and how to change these sources. Based on interviews with more than 250 people from 22 companies, the authors tell how to banish fear from all levels of an organization.