The Hidden Cost of Execuphobia (and How to Cure It)
Managers who lead with fear tend to believe their style gets results, but that’s almost certainly a short-sighted view at best. There’s ample research and anecdotal evidence that fear-based approaches do more harm than good in terms of productivity and innovation.
A survey of 2,500 corporate leaders found that fear-based workplace cultures cost $36 billion in lost productivity annually. Separately, research conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey found that just 11% of companies with a high-fear culture meet the firm’s definition of leading innovators, compared with 56% of low-fear companies.
Sometimes, it’s not even the boss’ fault, per se: Some employees are naturally fearful of making a mistake or otherwise upsetting their manager, for logical reasons: If my boss isn’t happy with me or my performance, that could cost me promotions, raises, and other opportunities – or it could cost me my job altogether.
Call it execuphobia – the fear or reluctance of direct reports to speak openly and honestly with their managers and executive leaders, which can in turn limit their willingness to be proactive, collaborate with colleagues, take risks, and more.
Execuphobia can be particularly problematic for technology leaders who prize innovation, speed, and a general willingness to think big – you can’t really claim to value those things if your team is terrified of you.
So, what do you do if your team tiptoes around you? We’re here to share some no-nonsense advice for how to fix the problem. First, let’s unpack some common symptoms of execuphobia – and why it’s a problem worth solving.
Execuphobia: What Causes It & Why It’s a Problem
Execuphobia can arise for a variety of reasons. That includes, of course, actual fear-mongering or punitive management styles. It can also commonly arise from less obvious causes, including:
- Poor (or very little) communication: In the absence of clear, reliable information, people tend to fill in the blanks with their own assumptions and ideas. Silence (on your part) can itself be met with fear – the boss must be unhappy with how I’m doing things.
- Lack of transparency: Leaders have to make hard and sometimes unpopular decisions. That’s part of the job. The goal here isn’t to make everyone happy all of the time. But when people don’t know or understand the reasons behind those decisions – the “why” behind the “what” – then there’s a natural tendency to retreat from or resist leadership communication and decision-making.
- Perceived power distance: The greater the distance between you and team members on the org chart, the more space there is for fear to grow. A junior developer might have a great idea for a new project, but be intimidated by the prospect of bringing it up in a meeting with you or other execs present.
Whether intentional or accidental, fear might motivate people in the short term, but usually at unsustainable costs in the long term. Fear produces all manner of negative outcomes: high turnover, burnout, lack of creativity, lack of collaboration, finger-pointing, and other signs of an unhealthy team culture.
It also probably means you’re making executive decisions without a full, honest picture of reality. If everyone usually just nods their assent in meetings or gives a thumbs up in the Slack channel, that could be a warning sign that people are scared of sharing good ideas, asking tough questions, or taking risks – or they simply don’t want to deliver bad news to the boss because they fear negative consequences. That lowers the ceiling not just for your team, but for the whole organization.
5 Strategies For Eliminating Execuphobia
Now let’s dig into five practical strategies for reducing fear and, in the process, opening up communication, collaboration, creative problem-solving, and the kinds of risk-taking that generate real technical innovation. None of these are magic spells that will cure everything that ails your team, because you’re running a real team and a real business, not writing a fantasy novel.
1. Lead by Example: Instead of micromanaging or taking a command-and-control approach to people, model the behavior you want to see. This starts, simply enough, with remembering that your words matter – a lot.
“You need to be very conscious that your response to people, as a technology leader, carries significant weight,” says Ben Slater, the VP & GM at NetApp Instaclustr. Slater was the company’s CPO for 10 years before recently moving into his current role. “That's true both with the immediate perception when someone raises information, and in the example [your response] sets for others. In short, lead by example.”
A single blow-up at a team member could have a chilling effect that lasts for weeks or even months, for example.
2. Don’t Let Interpersonal Issues Fester: In addition to modeling the type of communication and collaboration you want to see, it’s also important to coach and lead proactively when you see unwanted behaviors, especially if you have other people managers on your team. That helps create an environment of both openness and accountability.
“It's important to address issues promptly,” Slater says. “You can't let it slide when you see bad behavior from tech leaders and others in your team, even if it's accidental. Deal with it respectfully and behind the scenes, but make sure your expectations on behavior are clear and reinforced when needed.”
3. Establish Clear Feedback Loops: Some people may not share good ideas or honest feedback because they don’t feel they have the proper channels to do so. Consider establishing regular, structured methods for communication with leadership – such as AMAs, Q&As, short surveys, and quick standup meetings – that invite candor and reward honesty and openness.
4. Reward Honesty & Openness: Affirm and reward all types of constructive feedback – not just the good news and the “yeses.” If you only highlight positive news, it creates the sense that disagreement is unwanted, even if you’re not actively trying to quash dissenting viewpoints.
5. Build Psychological Safety: Psychological safety is essentially the opposite of execuphobia – a person believes that they can speak up, proactively address issues, and resolve (rather than avoid) conflicts without fear of reprisal. While you can’t just snap your fingers and conjure it up, you can invest in creating psychological safety for your teams over time. Each of the above ideas is an example of doing so, but don’t stop there. You can provide professional training for managers on handling disagreement and dissent in a healthy manner, for example.
Also consider ways in which you can build psychological safety that are specific to your team and business. Slater shares a great example from NetApp Instaclustr:
What’s Next?
There’s no light switch you can flip or a wand you can wave that creates a healthy, open culture where people feel free to speak up and truly collaborate and innovate. That’s all the more true if you’re starting from a place where execuphobia is widespread.
Start small and build over time. Here’s an example goal: implement at least one feedback loop improvement within the next 90 days and follow through with honest input, feedback, and encouragement. That gives you a tangible starting point and a focused way to show you’re really committed to change, not just saying you’re committed to change.
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