You can feel it before you see it. The tension in the air. The cautious silence in meetings. The hesitation before anyone speaks up. It’s not motivation. It’s not drive. It’s fear. When fear runs a workplace, productivity doesn’t just drop—it distorts. Teams don’t innovate; they comply. Creativity fades, replaced by cautious survival. The energy that should push a company forward gets trapped under the weight of unspoken threats and hidden consequences. How to Know Fear Is the Real Boss 1. People Avoid Responsibility Instead of ownership, you see avoidance. Mistakes become secrets. Employees cover for each other—or worse, cover themselves. Risk-taking is replaced by risk-evading. When the cost of being wrong feels higher than the reward of being right, innovation stalls. 2. Communication Is Controlled, Not Encouraged Conversations feel scripted. Questions are discouraged, ideas are dismissed, and dissent is silenced—sometimes subtly, sometimes openly. The leader...