"Drive out fear so that everyone may work effectively for the company." - W. Edwards Deming
What does fear cost
businesses each year? Thousands? Millions? Billions? It’s something
that obviously can't be measured accurately, but when I think about some of the
organizations I have worked with in the past, I'm guessing the figure is extremely
high.
Although the type and extent
of fear differs for every organization, it affects virtually all companies in
one way or another. Since much of the cost related to fear is indirect
and difficult to measure, though, most companies don't think about it or put forth
the effort to reduce its existence.
The Effects
Okay, fear is not
necessarily a bad thing for the human race. It is an emotion designed to lead
us to take action when we sense danger. As a fundamental instinct, fear
is a short-term behavior that motivates us to avoid or escape from dangerous
situations. In this sense, fear can lead to bursts of energy and
creativity to assure safety and survival.
Within the workplace,
however, fear tends to be a chronic condition that wears people down over
time. Although chronic fear affects different people in different ways,
most psychologists agree that it is destructive. Any positive effects on
motivation and action are short-term.
The fears that commonly exist
within organizations include fear of layoffs, disagreeing with decisions and
opinions, asking questions, and taking risks. In business, the areas that
are negatively affected by these fears include the following:
- Creativity & Innovation: When people are stressed, the conscious mind
blocks creativity and innovation. Fear prevents people from relaxing
to the point where they can access the right brain and develop creative
solutions to problems;
- Goals & Objectives: People will avoid committing to stretch goals
and objectives when they feel there will be repercussions if the goals are
not met. Fear also leads people to do whatever is necessary to meet
a goal, whether or not it actually helps the organization meet its
objectives;
- Customer Focus:
A culture of fear and blame causes people to focus on meeting the needs of
their boss rather than the customer;
- Learning: Effective learning requires the
freedom to study the facts and test ideas in real situations. Some ideas will fail, which is okay
because of the learning that results.
Fear of failure blocks people from taking the time to clearly
understand problems and test ideas;
- Health Issues:
There have been numerous studies on the negative effects of stress and
fear on personal health. Chronic stress suppresses the immune
system, leading to an increase in colds and flu, in addition to a host of
potentially more serious conditions.
At best, fear can drain energy and lead to indifference and
mediocrity.
Taking Action
So what should business
leaders do to address the problem of fear? I have talked with senior
leaders in the past who don’t see fear as a big problem because they don’t see
it. Company leaders unfortunately don’t
commonly have the perspective to accurately judge the level of fear within the
organization.
Since fear can greatly
impede transformation, however, organizations pursuing lean thinking need to understand
the level of fear that exists and begin to address it immediately. I’ve seen this done with focus groups and
surveys, but the most effective method is to increase visits to gemba. Although go-and-see visits to the workplace
can initially increase the level of fear and suspicion among team members when
done well, the level of trust that results can significantly improve the
situation.
Developing plans from
the highest levels of the organization to reduce fear greatly improves the
chances of success with lean. Developing an army of problem-solvers
throughout the organization requires that people feel comfortable enough to
work toward what’s best for the company and its customers rather than what they
think is important to the boss. As the
situation improves, the release of human potential to improve the organization
can be staggering.
