A Return to Old Business Ways
August 7, 2025
By Sheldon Smith, CEO
Having just exited the workforce, I empathize with younger generations that are part of a workplace I feel may be moving back to a "yes man" culture. This fear is well founded. When leaders prioritize intimidation over motivation, they create an environment where emotional intelligence is undervalued, and employees are afraid to speak up. This is a dangerous trend that can lead to organizational failures and a loss of innovation.
The premise that emotional intelligence is no longer a desired quality in leaders is concerning. During my master’s program several years ago, I saw research that consistently showed that emotional intelligence is a critical factor in effective leadership. It directly impacts employee engagement, motivation, and overall organizational performance. Leaders who possess high emotional intelligence are better equipped to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This skill set is vital for fostering a positive and productive work environment.
While the "post-COVID shift" led to a greater shift toward employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and innovation, an opposite movement toward intimidation over motivation is developing. Over the years, I have learned that intimidation, as a leadership style, is counterproductive and unsustainable. It creates a culture of fear, which stifles communication, innovation, and risk-taking. This counter-shift is characterized by:
During employee engagement efforts at my previous employer, I learned that employees in such an environment are less likely to speak up about problems or mistakes, for fear of retribution. This suppression of vital information can lead to significant failures and even disasters, a phenomenon known as "organizational silence."
These disasters highlight the danger of a leadership style that prioritizes a culture of intimidation over open communication and psychological safety. When leaders create an environment where employees are afraid to identify problems, they are effectively blind to the risks facing their organization. This can lead to a repetition of historical failures, as critical information gets lost and dangerous decisions are made without all the necessary facts.
To prevent such failures, leaders must actively cultivate a culture of trust and psychological safety. This includes:
These practices are not merely "soft skills," but essential components of effective organizational leadership. They are crucial for building resilient, adaptable, and ethical organizations that can navigate complexity and avoid catastrophic failures.
Our partners at Sandbank Group can help businesses strike a balance between productivity and employee wellbeing. Find out more.
By Sheldon Smith, CEO
Having just exited the workforce, I empathize with younger generations that are part of a workplace I feel may be moving back to a "yes man" culture. This fear is well founded. When leaders prioritize intimidation over motivation, they create an environment where emotional intelligence is undervalued, and employees are afraid to speak up. This is a dangerous trend that can lead to organizational failures and a loss of innovation.
The premise that emotional intelligence is no longer a desired quality in leaders is concerning. During my master’s program several years ago, I saw research that consistently showed that emotional intelligence is a critical factor in effective leadership. It directly impacts employee engagement, motivation, and overall organizational performance. Leaders who possess high emotional intelligence are better equipped to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members. This skill set is vital for fostering a positive and productive work environment.
While the "post-COVID shift" led to a greater shift toward employee satisfaction, work-life balance, and innovation, an opposite movement toward intimidation over motivation is developing. Over the years, I have learned that intimidation, as a leadership style, is counterproductive and unsustainable. It creates a culture of fear, which stifles communication, innovation, and risk-taking. This counter-shift is characterized by:
- RTO Mandates: Many organizations, after initially embracing remote work, have implemented policies requiring employees to return to the physical office, often for a set number of days per week.
- Emphasis on Traditional Control: This shift has sometimes been interpreted by employees as an attempt to regain control over the workforce, which was perceived as diluted during the remote work period.
- Focus on Collaboration and Culture: Proponents of RTO often emphasize the importance of in-person collaboration, strengthening company culture, fostering creativity, and improving supervision.
- Challenges to Employee Well-being and Retention: RTO mandates can create challenges for employees in terms of work-life balance, commute stress, and childcare arrangements. Some employees may even consider leaving their jobs rather than returning to the office full-time.
- Top-Down Communication: This shift can sometimes be accompanied by a return to a more top-down leadership style, where decisions about the future of work are made at the executive level and communicated down the hierarchy.
During employee engagement efforts at my previous employer, I learned that employees in such an environment are less likely to speak up about problems or mistakes, for fear of retribution. This suppression of vital information can lead to significant failures and even disasters, a phenomenon known as "organizational silence."
Lessons from Organizational Failures
The tragic events of the Ford Pinto and the Space Shuttle Challenger serve as stark examples of what can happen when organizational silence prevails. In both cases, employees were aware of serious safety concerns but felt unable to voice them effectively to leadership.- Ford Pinto: Engineers had identified a flaw in the Pinto's fuel tank design that made it prone to exploding in rear-end collisions. Despite this knowledge, a cost-benefit analysis prioritized profits over safety, and the design did not change. This decision was enabled by a corporate culture that valued financial gains over employee concerns.
- Space Shuttle Challenger: Engineers at Morton Thiokol, the company that built the solid rocket boosters, had warned NASA about the risks of launching in cold weather. They were concerned that the O-ring seals would not function properly. However, NASA management, who were under pressure to launch the shuttle on schedule, dismissed their warnings. The resulting failure led to the loss of seven astronauts.
These disasters highlight the danger of a leadership style that prioritizes a culture of intimidation over open communication and psychological safety. When leaders create an environment where employees are afraid to identify problems, they are effectively blind to the risks facing their organization. This can lead to a repetition of historical failures, as critical information gets lost and dangerous decisions are made without all the necessary facts.
To prevent such failures, leaders must actively cultivate a culture of trust and psychological safety. This includes:
- Valuing Employee Input: Leaders must actively solicit and listen to the concerns and ideas of their employees, regardless of their position or tenure.
- Promoting Open Communication: Creating channels for employees to safely report problems, mistakes, and concerns without fear of punishment.
- Demonstrating Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: Acknowledging the emotional impact of work and showing genuine concern for employee well-being.
- Encouraging a Growth Mindset: Framing mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures that require adverse action.
These practices are not merely "soft skills," but essential components of effective organizational leadership. They are crucial for building resilient, adaptable, and ethical organizations that can navigate complexity and avoid catastrophic failures.
Our partners at Sandbank Group can help businesses strike a balance between productivity and employee wellbeing. Find out more.