Lead with Repect or Fear?

This is the first podcast episode I’ve listened to twice, and each time, I felt really torn, both during and after.

For context, in case you don’t want to listen to the podcast: Niall Ferguson believes that sometimes you need a bit of harshness to be more effective—he argues that being feared is crucial. On the other hand, Adam Grant takes the opposite view, saying that he has never needed to create fear to be successful or effective.

As a fan of Adam Grant’s, I find it hard to disagree with his perspective, but at the same time, I feel that fear is a major motivator for people. If you look at the political landscape both historically and today, many leaders reached their positions by generating fear and ruling through it—even in the most democratic regimes. Fear of Nazis, Communists, Islam, the West, the East… it's everywhere.

However, I also don’t believe that using fear as a weapon is the right approach. If your people are walking around afraid of you, they’re not operating at their best. Part of their energy—mental and physical—is drained by that fear.

The podcast felt like a debate between two different worldviews, maybe even two different eras. Adam advocated for how we should act, while Niall drew on historical examples. For instance, Adam pointed out that research shows if a coach gives an angry halftime speech, their team is more likely to win. But he added a caveat: it only works if you're not too angry. Niall countered with examples from European soccer, where coaches in top-level sports need to be tough, even if it creates tension.

As a lifelong soccer fan, I totally understand the passion behind some of the fan culture, but after moving to the US, I was amazed that rival teams' fans could sit next to each other at games. Does that "European locker room toughness" translate into real-world chaos on the streets and in the stands?

Adam also brought up Greg Popovich, one of my all-time favorites (and I’m a Celtics fan!). Greg once said, "No one is bigger than the team. If you can't do things our way, you're not getting time here—and we don't care who you are." To me, that sounds like a form of fear. As a professional player, your worth is measured by your performance on the court, not at practice. Popovich essentially threatened to take that away.

Despite this, I believe humanity is moving toward leadership based on love and respect, not fear. We must strive for the ideal of leadership that is loved, respected, and admired, but we also need to recognize that we still live in a world where fear-based leadership often prevails.


References: 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/47dFBVP1RPU9nAvdFpctCr

https://www.ted.com/podcasts/www.ted.com/podcasts/should-leaders-be-feared-or-loved-transcript

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