IN SPEAKING ABOUT leaders, we can say that other than respected the adjectives that would be appropriate include loved, revered, or feared. The word love is not always used in the context of romance. Revered which is synonymous for respect, honor, and admiration. Certainly, these are very appropriately common feelings people will express. What about expressing feelings of fear or being terrified of a leader? This is not an overly common phenomenon but by the same token, not an uncommon phenomenon.
How plausible is it to feel all three emotions or feeling all at the same time and for the same person? I would hold to the opinion that the above is not out of the realm of what is possible. I would then ask what kind of leader can elicit these conflicting feelings? What series of events could be the trigger point that allows this to come into being? In answer to my own questions, I would surmise that the leader can be almost anybody who has a complex psychological make-up that can result in erratic behavioral patterns causing others to react accordingly. The event trigger could be one of a million different things while the leader can be almost anybody.
Our soldiers who put their lives on the line to serve our country in order so that we along with the freedoms we enjoy are protected. These brave men and women are revered for what they do. We feel a sense of love for them as they feel for our great nation. No matter what their rank is a soldier is a leader. Sadly the emotional battle scars they bring back home can lead them to striking fear or even terror into the hearts of all those they come into contact with.
What of our parents? Parents are ideally role models for us in addition to being our leaders as we start our journey into our years of independence. In a well-balanced family unit, children love and revere their parents. An abusive parent will strike fear yet there are in many cases strong feelings of love that permeate in these children. Here again love, reverence, and fear can be in conjunction with each other. The fear element while not being too much of the norm is still too common for any degree of comfort.
In the world of work, you can certainly love your co-workers along with your boss. Fear of a boss is possible due to his temper or more likely since he has the power to take your job away. A boss being an emperor type or one who empowers is still not somebody you would tend to revere. Reverence is unique as it has to be earned. Love and fear obviously not so.
Are presidents capable of provoking feelings of real fear in us? The average law-abiding citizen in this country is generally not living in fear of what the President might do to him. We may not always be comfortable with their actions nor we may not always revere them while loving them is questionable. Those who seek to harm or destroy us or our allies should feel the fear of a furious leader hell-bent on exacting a very heavy price from our enemies. This is the only circumstance that I can illustrate in terms of fearing a leader. Love in the purest sense of this emotion is rarely applicable as it relates to a President or similar type of leader. Reverence ala President George Bush and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani during the cataclysmic events of 09/11 and subsequent recovery from 09/11 are perfect examples of reverence for the type of people who have earned these feelings towards them.
A teacher who is feared is a failed educator who needs to be removed from the classroom setting not to mention being barred from any educating processes that involve person to person interaction. Fortunately, these colossal failures do not exist in large numbers. Incompetence in leadership is another story. Revere a teacher who made a positive impact on your life. Loving a teacher would probably go hand in hand with reverence.
Those functioning in a leadership capacity need to be looked at not only from the standpoint of style or results produced but their ability (or inability) to cradle the sometimes fragile egg shells of the human condition must be taken into account as well. Too often these factors are overlooked or even worse deemed to be of little or no importance.
If you were to conclude from this article that the first paragraph and the ensuing paragraphs do not always appear to be in sync with each other I will wholeheartedly agree with your conclusion based on what you see on the surface. When you make a closer examination of the examples I have provided there is no diversion from the original topic as there is both the common and uncommon element that exists within each of the three.
I have a book on the management styles of Attila the Hun. He was a very scary guy; aka you get either a reward or death. I’m not sure what his subjects feared more; him or his punishment.
Joel, certainly a successful leader should have the respect of his followers. They must trust him/her to be fair, honest, truthful, and consistent.
But, with all that comes an element of fear too. Not so much fear of the leader as such, but fear that one will fail or disappoint the leader.
Ken,
Thank you for your comments. I am curious as to why you don’t think that there is a fear factor amongst those who the leader is leading. What I am referring to is fearing the leader himself for whatever reason.
Valid question, Joel. Certainly a person can fear the results of a leader’s actions and the impact that the action can have on self. But, I believe that a person that is fearful of the leader is not likely to be fully engaged. There will always be that portion of self and effort held back. Fear often leads to resentment.
I don’t believe a good leader wants to be feared and will do whatever he/she can to avoid creating fear in the ranks.
Ken,
EXCELLENT POINTS!