A new global study has found that one-third of emerging corporate leaders in the US are primarily leading with fear, creating work environments that cost the economy $36 billion annually in lost productivity.
The Love Leadership Survey, commissioned by experienced executive leader, author and speaker Margot Faraci, and conducted by New York City-based research and analytics firm First & First Consulting, found that 36% of leaders under 55 years old, roughly 1.3 million in total, were found to be leading through fear.
Fear-based leaders are those who responded in the survey that they either always or often experienced anxiety, micromanagement, imposter syndrome, anger, unwillingness to receive feedback, hesitancy to speak up, complacency and quiet quitting. These leaders lose 10 hours a week in productivity for their companies, equivalent to $28,750 a year per leader, or $36 billion annually.
FEAR-BASED LEADERS
“These findings are enormously consequential for global businesses,” said Faraci, who brings 20 years of experience in leadership management in high-pressure industries like financial services and tech. “An entire generation of leaders is creating a workplace culture marred by systemic fear and this culture is causing a massive loss of productivity, to the tune of billions of dollars a year. To break this toxic cycle, we need leaders to turn away from fear and embrace courage, honest communication and compassion.”
IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY
Highlighting the extent to which fear-based leaders have a negative impact on their workplaces, the study also found that:
- 90% of fear-based leaders reported witnessing a decline in employee productivity.
- Nearly 40% of fear-based leaders strongly believe that stress can be positively harnessed.
- Almost 50% of fearful leaders noticed a drop in performance from their teams while nearly 60% acknowledged their direct reports are ‘unhappy with their job.’
The survey of 2,486 managers aged between 24 and 54, working in companies with 500+ employees across the US, UK and Australia, however, did reveal promising opportunities to reverse this trend; with eight out of 10 leaders having a positive view of compassion and vulnerability in the workplace.
RELATED ARTICLES
A new survey has revealed the most important skills and attributes of a good and effective manager.
The majority of employees (86%) believe empathetic leadership boosts morale, and 87% say it’s essential to fostering an inclusive work environment, a recent study has confirmed.
Sign up for our newsletter
