It's time to reinvent management. You can help.

Increase trust, reduce fear

“The most critical challenge for any organization is to enlarge the circle of trust.”

Command-and-control systems reflect a deep mistrust of employees’ commitment and competence. They also tend to overemphasize sanctions as a way of forcing compliance. That’s why so many organizations are filled with anxious employees who are hesitant to take the initiative or trust their own judgment. Organizational adaptability, innovation, and employee engagement can only thrive in a high-trust, low-fear culture. In such an environment, information is widely shared, contentious opinions are freely expressed, and risk taking is encouraged. Fear paralyzes, mistrust demoralizes—they must be wrung out of our management systems.

124 Stories
236 Hacks
22 Barriers

Increase trust, reduce fear

“The most critical challenge for any organization is to enlarge the circle of trust.”

Command-and-control systems reflect a deep mistrust of employees’ commitment and competence. They also tend to overemphasize sanctions as a way of forcing compliance. That’s why so many organizations are filled with anxious employees who are hesitant to take the initiative or trust their own judgment. Organizational adaptability, innovation, and employee engagement can only thrive in a high-trust, low-fear culture. In such an environment, information is widely shared, contentious opinions are freely expressed, and risk taking is encouraged. Fear paralyzes, mistrust demoralizes—they must be wrung out of our management systems.

Filter By:
A chance question during a seminar exposed a cultural norm at Menlo Innovations that confounds most corporate thinkers. Menlo has no hierarchy. They are a team in the truest sense of the word.
Story by Richard Sheridan on July 14, 2013
In our group tasks are chosen by our people.People are encouraged to volunteer to lead projects and others are encouraged to volunteer to join them and support them.The whole work is self-organized.Wh
Story by Edna Pasher on July 9, 2013
This is the story of a Colombian based engineering company that grew from 60 people in 2006 to over 1000 by 2012.
Story by Peter King on June 24, 2013
At the centre of innovation are people in all their forms; however, much of the references to people being at the heart of our organisations pay lip-service to what it truly means to realise a people-
Story by Ian Fergus on June 10, 2013
Our relationship with others is often determined by boundaries found in virtually all organizations: demographic, geographic, horizontal, vertical or stakeholder.
Story by Stephen Remedios on June 3, 2013
Giving everyone with experience and the will to give back is the mission and objective, almost evryone is an expert in something.
Story by Dan Auito on May 26, 2013
Leading without "Title" empowers ordinary employees and lower-level specialists the opportunity to really contribute and build an organization.
Story by Francis Jeyaraj on April 15, 2013
Catalytic leadership helped a Swedish CEOintroduce organic, self-organizing principles,which helped save the company and pavethe way for international success.Clearly, theguidelines presented are not
Story by Charles Ehin on April 3, 2013

Pages