Why Strong Leaders Replace Fear With Trust

Anxiety and stress appear in almost every workplace; however, many offices can only be described as toxic.

While preventing stress in the workplace is not an easy undertaking, it is the key to maintaining a healthy and productive environment. Indeed, happy employees are productive employees, and therefore strong leaders make positivity a priority.

One of the primary ways employers are able to create a positive environment is by trusting their staff. Not only will doing so reduce employee turnover, but it also motivates staff to go above and beyond. What’s more, employees that feel trusted will in turn trust their employers.

On the contrary, leaders that instill fear experience numerous issues. Not only will they have problems with individuals, but the fear will impact the team as a whole. Once fear is introduced into the workplace it has a trickle-down effect, creating hostility between individuals on all levels.

There are a number of ways that enabling a trust-based work environment will strengthen a workplace.

Increases Innovation

While a career personality test determines whether an individual is the right fit for a role, he or she may not flourish without confidence. As a result, establishing trust with staff is necessary to encourage new and existing talent. Innovation does not occur unless employees feel safe sharing opinions, and that they are encouraged to do so. Expressing new ideas may feel scary, so people need to know that there won’t be repercussions for doing so.

Improves Team Morale

When staff are dropping like flies in the office, the atmosphere feels extremely tense. For example, employees are less likely to be supportive and more likely to blame one another. Rather than acting like a team, they begin to operate on an “every man or woman for him or herself” basis. When job security is on the line, shared goals are forgotten. In contrast, trust facilitates cooperation and increases morale.

Promotes Mental Health

When staff are consistently stressed out their mental health suffers tremendously. Not only does this increase the number of sick days taken, but top talent may decide to quit. In addition, frequent negative outbursts may occur as a result of unrelenting pressure. Whether this comes from the fear of being fired or from unreasonable goals, fear has a negative impact on mental health. Conversely, trust promotes confidence. When employees feel trusted they will bring up issues with managers right away, instead of allowing them to build up.