A tactic employed by some leaders in their workplace is to lead their employees through fear and intimidation. Unfortunately, it is a leadership technique that works: a leader who's feared by their workers may discover that they get more out of them, just as a leader who is is too relaxed with their employees might find that they're not putting a hundred percent effort into their work.

However, there may be some massive repercussions to leading by fear. Here is a list of the effects that it might have on a leader's staff:

1. It might create stress - Although leading by fear may appear to increase productivity on the surface, it'll cause employees to feel more stressed, which might lead to mistakes being made and possibly lead to employee burnout. If the end result is more frequent - and longer - phases of sick leave taken by staff then surely things will not be running as smoothly as originally thought.

2. It can kill creativity - A manager who rules with an iron fist may want their staff to be creative, but they will not have it. Employees will avoid taking risks, trying new things and innovating if they're scared that their moves could be seen negatively by their boss or if the gamble doesn't pay off in the short term. So for leaders who work in an industry that relies on their employees to be as creative as possible at each and every moment, this may very well be a real danger, not only hindering productivity but also individual and business-wide growth and development.

3. Staff will not want to work with you (by choice) - If you are a friendly, approachable leader who looks after your staff then it's increasingly likely that they will actually wish to work with you. There'll be a greater chance of them putting more time in willingly, rather than just having an "I will only do what's required of me and that is it" approach. They will also be increasingly likely to carry out favours and additional work for you, outside of what has been asked and expected - this may carry across to other departments and teams within the business who might not necessarily be direct reports. Otherwise, expect staff to do what has been asked and little more.

4. Your employees will be 'yes men' - Just like human beings in general, not all managers are perfect and we can all potentially make mistakes. The issue with leading by fear is that if you suggest a new strategy or project that people do not agree with, they may be too nervous to speak their mind, disagree or have their say in general. Instead, you may find that staff will agree with whatever you propose, regardless of their opinion on it. This could have a significant damaging effect on long-term strategies - a member of staff should not be lynched for recommending against an opinion or recommending another option; in fact they should be applauded for it.

5. Survival will be about looking good, not being good - Currently, staff members may be worried not only about career progression but pretty much just about surviving, a cause of the on-going economic crisis. Some staff might be able to make themselves look better and more worthwhile than they actually are, with somebody else who is talented yet shy appearing less important in the process. A good manager will be able to distinguish their greatest stars from those who simply care about plodding along, but for one who leads by fear it could be more difficult or even promote that kind of behaviour between team members.

6. It will cause talented people to go after other employment - Eventually, the talent will look to go elsewhere. Leading by fear leads to unmotivated, demoralised and unhappy employees, who won't want to work with you. Even in hard economic times, with an increasing number of unemployed people and less jobs going, opportunities will still appear and people will move on. There may even be situations of struggling to get new staff, if they hear rumours of what it is like working there or if they're able to obtain a glimpse of your leadership approach whilst in an interview.

Of course, as mentioned before, a manager with an unruly department will be just as bad as a leader with a team who are scared straight, so either extreme is best evaded. Unfortunately, leadership by fear works, otherwise leaders wouldn't engage in it as a leadership technique, whether by accident or on purpose. However, the correct balance of a leader who's strict but who is also calm, patient and a great listener can result in having a team consisting of dedicated, happy and extremely productive staff, without needing to lead by fear.