“What’s worse is that many managers – consciously or unconsciously – still believe in the power of fear as a motivator. They assume that people who are afraid (of management or of the consequences of poor performance) will work hard to avoid unpleasant consequences and that this will result in good work performance. This may be true if the work is very simple and the worker is unlikely to encounter any problems and has no ideas for improvement. However, for tasks where learning and cooperation are essential for success, fear is not an effective motivator.”

Edmondson, Amy C.: The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. New York, 2018.