The respect you get from fear lasts until you leave the room. The kind you earn follows you out.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Fear produces obedience while you are watching and nothing at all once you are not, which is why leaders who rely on it keep having to raise the volume. Respect that was earned behaves differently, because it lives inside the other person rather than inside your presence. You find out which one you have during the week you are away.

Notice whether the standard holds when you are absent. If it slips the moment you leave, the problem is how it was built rather than who was on. Start by explaining one rule you have only ever enforced.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Do people behave differently the moment you walk out?

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