Fear is a powerful motivator.
 
Just consider all the choices we make because of fear - fear that we will lose our job, that we will not get a raise, that we will fail, that "the boss" will be displeased.  And those are just a few of the motivators in the workplace.
 
Then there are the more general ones we deal with every day - fear that someone will not like or stop likening us, fear of guilt, fear of shame, fear of injury to reputation or image, fear of the loss of friendship or love.
 
Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear!!
 
And rest assured that savvy marketers know how to use fear to manipulate our choices.  You might miss out on the best deal.  You might not be "in" with the "in" crowd.  You might suffer injury or worse.  Your freedom may be in peril.  Your future is in jeopardy.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Here's another thing to consider about fear.  No one likes to be afraid.  That is the main reason it has such impact.  On the other hand, we are unable to attach oppositional feelings to the fear itself.  Instead, we most often resent or are angry at the source of the fear - the person or thing that creates it.

It might be good to consider this whenever thinking about using some aspect of fear to influence or motivate others.
 
The consequence of using fear as a motivator may be something to be feared.

Recently a client sent me a an excellent question.  Someone suggested to her that she should try to treat all employees equally.  She asked me if that is even possible.

My belief is that you cannot and need not try to treat all people equally.  People are different from each other and, by that very nature, need to be treated differently in different circumstances.  Dealing with diversity in the workplace is not about getting everyone to be the same, but rather about understanding and appreciating differences.  Then we can begin to demonstrate tolerance and inclusion.

A perfect example of these principles can be seen in our work on understanding and building trust.  We acknowledge that our level of trust varies according to individuals and situations.  I wouldn’t trust a jet pilot to perform brain surgery.  I wouldn’t trust an eight year old to catch me if I fell from a chair, but I may well trust a professional football player to make that catch.  Similarly, we need to be more tolerant of someone who is learning new skills than with someone who has ample ability and has had ample opportunity to learn those same skills.     

I like to use the term “equitable” rather than “equal.”  Being treated “equal” tends to imply being treated the same.  The term “equitable’ leans more towards fairness and reasonableness which allows for consideration of individual differences and situations.

In striving to treat everyone equal, we may well discover that we are not being fair.

Make a mistake. Please!

When was the last time your boss said that to you? When was the last time you said that to people who work for you?  In fact, when was the last time in any situation that anyone encouraged you to make a mistake?

In these days of quality wars, there is an ever increasing demand to reduce errors and improve quality.  But in work, and in life, the fear of failure can impede progress!

Oversights can lead to unhappy customers and bad reputations. Valuable time and material are often wasted in order to correct inaccuracies. The entire flow of business can be disrupted by a single lapse in judgment.  Let’s face it, mistakes can be costly. Why would any smart professional actually encourage mistakes?

Twenty-first century business is moving at an ever increasing pace. The winners of today are “old news” tomorrow. Today’s market place demands new improved products delivered in more efficient ways. The future belongs to the innovators and innovation requires risk. John F. Kennedy once said “There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” 

The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to do nothing. Progress requires taking risks.  When you operate out on the edge, taking risks, there will always be a few mistakes. Mistakes are a crucial part of progress.  If your workplace over emphasizes avoidance of mistakes, workers operate out of fear and will never look for new ways to improve.

Mistakes are also critical to the process of learning. How often have you heard that you should learn from the mistakes of others and avoid your own? Actually, we rarely learn from the blunders of others. The real lessons, the ones we always remember, come through our own mishaps. You can never make enough mistakes to help others learn. They have to make some mistakes of their own.

Still, quality is important. So where is the balance? How can we encourage risk taking and, at the same time, minimize costly errors? The key is to learn from those mistakes and avoid repeats. To avoid repeated mistakes, we must bring those miscues to the surface where we can learn from them.

A business culture that penalizes errors also fosters cover-ups. If employees are constantly reprimanded for oversights they are more likely to hide rather than discuss their mistakes. The entire workforce benefits from a climate that encourages personal growth and welcomes mistakes as valuable tools for learning.

To error is human and to forgive divine. To use mistakes as tools for improvement is progress.