Stephen Olupot was an Engineer in his sixties at the Company where I worked. He was loyal to the dot. Steph had been working with the same company from the day he graduated from University. I always loved to listen to him talk. He was like a father to me. One time after sharing my plans with him he smiled and said, “Sudesh if you hadn’t gone to school you would be a thief” Please don’t ask me what I told him.

One sunny Friday afternoon Stephen came to my office shaking. “Daddy what is wrong?”, I asked.

“My son, your boss just told me I might be losing my job. Your young brother is still at University”, he said referring to his last born.

After calming Stephen down, he narrated to me how he had confronted the boss about short circuiting the procurement process and for such the Company was about to make a huge loss.

Watching the old man cry broke my heart. It was then that I got an idea to start Sudesh Int’l Consult- a consulting firm that empowered employees to have a voice as well as train leaders to create safety for employees in their workplaces.

In my Coaching career I have talked to thousands of employees who would never speak the truth if their bosses were on the same room. I have seen smart folks with MBAs cringe like the devil when the boss shows up yet engage in corridor talk or gossip.

One of the things I love about the Culture at Sudesh In’l Consult is that anyone can tell me anything however “harsh” it is. I love productive conflict and believe that no one should ever hold back for the sake of fear. That’s slavery!

The reason most workplaces are so riddled with fear is that they were originally created to increase efficiency of workers in completing simple, manual tasks.

During the Industrial Revolution, most workers were so poorly educated that Frederick Winslow Taylor, author of The Principles of Scientific Management, described the typical laborer as “so stupid that the term percentage has no meaning to him.”

The solution that Taylor proposed, now coined as Taylorism, was to create a caste system of thinkers and doers, whereby management did the thinking and workers carried out the doing.

At that time, it was certainly an advantage to companies to maximize the productivity and efficiency of their workers because creating more widgets at lower costs was the primary business model. This is why nowadays, we say we are “doing work” even though much of the work in the knowledge economy is “thinking work.”

Sadly, in the time since the Industrial Revolution, the caste system set up by Taylorism has persisted. Although people today are far better educated, the distinction between managers and employees is still deeply entrenched.

This is evident in the language that organizations use to measure work, words such as productivity and performance, pointing to the outdated desire to increase the speed and quantity of work being produced rather than the quality of thought and creativity behind the work.

The primary reason that the Industrial Era caste system has endured throughout the last century is because it is rooted in Taylorist beliefs about people at work. The fear-based beliefs are that people are lazy, dishonest, and in need of direction.

According to research conducted by author Frederic Laloux, the beliefs that underpin this worldview include:

• People are lazy; leaders need to motivate them with rewards or punishment to ensure performance.
• People work primarily for money ;they will do what it takes to make as much money as possible.
• People are selfish; they will put their own interests ahead of the organization.
• People need to be told what to do, how to do it, when to do it; leaders need to hold them accountable.
• Only leaders are capable of making decisions that affect the performance of the company.
• People don’t want to be responsible for their decisions that affect economic performance of the company.
• People are like interchangeable parts in a machine. One person with a set of specific skills is pretty much the same as any other person with the same skills.
• Feelings and emotions are not professional and need to be set aside so work can get done.

These beliefs may sound harsh, yet they are the basis for the structures and practices we have in organizations today.

They create environments where shame, blame, judgment, and fear are used to control people’s behavior, and have a direct impact on company results.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common workplace practices that stem from fear-based beliefs.

Tying bonuses and promotions to hours spent at the office supports the belief that people work primarily for money and will do what it takes to make as much money as possible.

Crying in the office is judged as weak and unprofessional, with many people crying in bathroom stalls or alone in their offices. And, policies that have little flexibility about where and when work gets done come from the belief that leaders need to tell people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

The beliefs also show up in the way leaders relate to the people they are leading. If a person made a mistake, a fear-based leader might use:

• Guilt:“I’m very disappointed in you”
• Blame: “ I thought I could depend on you”
• Shame:“You’re showing me that you can’t be trusted”

And they work… sort of. They result in compliance, but not in creativity, agility, ingenuity, or safety.

Instead, let’s think about ways a safety-based leader might relate to an individual who made a mistake:

• They might share feelings without judgment “I’m feeling disappointed. I don’t think either of us wanted this to happen.”
• They could be curious and acknowledge the person: “I’d like to hear what happened. I know you always try”

I am here to tell you that a shift from fear to safety is possible, and the fastest way to do it is to shift your beliefs.

Imagine a company with no clocking-in system. At this Company they invest in coaching and developing the “B players” A Company where true leadership is taught.

You can work or create such a company but first you need to shift beliefs.

To shift a belief, which is what we hold to be true about the world, you need to act as if the new belief is already true.

Think about a challenge you are having with your team or organization. Select one of the following new beliefs:

• People are creative, trustworthy-adults capable of making important decisions.
• Good ideas come from as many people in the company as possible.
• People are accountable and responsible for their decisions and actions.
• People are fallible and make mistakes.
• People are people, not resources, parts or obstacles.
• People want to use their talent and skills to make a contribution to the organization.
• People who are struggling need more support and care.
• It’s natural of people to experience and express emotions.

Ask yourself the following question: “If I believed [the new belief that you just selected], what would I do?” Then follow through with that action.

The more frequently you ask yourself the question and then follow through with that action, the faster the new belief you have chosen will take root. Soon, you won’t have to act as if you believe.

One more thing: Some of you have worked in fear based environments for so long that you have lost hope or don’t see how things can change. If that’s you, go create a workplace that espouses what I just shared.

All the best!