10 Signs You Work in a Fear-Based Workplace | by Traci Fenton

Do you work in freedom or fear each day?

Many of you will tell me freedom, which is wonderful. Some of you will say the opposite, that you are definitely working in a fear-based environment. But I can also hear a third group of you asking, “How do I know if I work in fear and why does it matter?”

It matters for a lot of reasons.

For example, fear-based organizations have leaders who make poor decisions, lack moral courage, and are dehumanizing. They are depressing and toxic places to work.

For 23 years here at WorldBlu, my team and I have worked with hundreds of companies all over the world, from small to Fortune 500s, helping leaders learn how to lead from a place of freedom with accountability rather than fear and control in order to boost the bottom-line, lower turnover, and create a culture people love.

And over the years, we’ve gotten really good at uncovering the many masks that fear wears. I wanted to share a few of those masks with you here so that you, too, can be smarter about recognizing fear in its many guises.

When we learn how to recognize fear, we can more consciously and intentionally choose to lead with Freedom at Work instead.

Here are 10 signs you work in a fear-based workplace:

1. Different points of view are silenced. Fear-based leaders claim they want diversity, but they don’t want diversity of viewpoints because this is threatening to their sense of power and control. Freedom-Centered Leaders, however, welcome, value, and even encourage the sharing of different points of view because it allows everyone to see the bigger picture and make better decisions.
2. Leaders are amoral. Fear-based leaders are corrupt, fraudulent, and moral relativists who bend circumstances to meet their needs. Freedom-Centered Leaders are ethical and put principle above self-seeking gain.
3. Short-term thinking wins. Fear-based leaders make reactionary, bad decisions that are short-sighted and unwise. Freedom-Centered Leaders are forward-thinking and take the long view, making decisions that are logical and smart.
4. There is little – if any – joy. In fear-based workplaces, there isn’t a natural joy in the eyes of the people who work there. Instead, there is anxiety and stress. I’ve traveled to dozens of countries visiting our members, and I’m happy to share that in WorldBlu certified Freedom-Centered Organizations you see people with real happiness and joy in their eyes.
5. Everyone is a victim. In fear-based organizations, everyone is busy blaming and pointing fingers at each other rather than being personally accountable for their own actions. In Freedom-Centered Organizations, everyone takes personal accountability for their behavior and outcomes, which helps their team rapidly learn and grow.
6. Self-righteousness is valued over humility. In fear-based organizations, leaders are self-righteous rather than humble. Freedom-Centered Organizations, however, understand that it takes real humility to listen and learn from each other.
7. Employees are entitled dependents. Fear-based leaders use perks and incentives to “motivate” employees, which often results in entitled dependents. Freedom-Centered Leaders understand that real motivation isn’t about carrot and stick perks but the alignment of one’s purpose with meaningful work that strengthens a person’s sense of self-worth and self-government.
8. One size fits all. In fear-based organizations, policies and rules are one-size-fits-all, without appropriate flexibility for individual needs and circumstances. Freedom-Centered Organizations, however, value the individual’s rights and needs as much as the collective.
9. Power to the top – not power to the people. Fear-based leaders centralize decision-making to the top of an organization, whereas Freedom-Centered Leaders decentralize power and decision-making to their people.
10. Command and control rather than organizational democracy. Fear-based leaders structure their teams or organizations into unnecessary layers of command and control hierarchy. Freedom-Centered Leaders, however, design agile and adaptable teams based on the 10 Principles of Organizational Democracy.

Do you see some of these fear-based leadership behaviors happening in your workplace? If yes, then you’re working in a toxic and fear-based environment.

So short of quitting your job, what can you do?

The first step is recognizing the fear in your thinking. My team and I have coached hundreds of leaders on how to identify the hidden fears in our mindsets and leadership behaviors that ultimately harm our teams or organizations.

Secondly, make sure you’re not acting from fear. It’s easy to blame others, but first do a check on yourself and make sure you’re acting from freedom and possibility rather than fear and control.

Lastly, work in a conscious and intentional way to not make decisions motivated by fear. We have a Fearless Mindset course that teaches leaders how to do this. Everyone will thank you for it and you’ll see the grip of fear lessen in your workplace over time.

We live in a time when there is so much fear in the world. But I believe that freedom is not only our sacred right, but it also creates the conditions in which we can flourish the most as human beings.

Now is the time for top leaders like you to really step up and lead from a place of freedom rather than fear and control instead. The capacity to do this is inside each one of us – and the world is waiting for it.