Sheila Keegan provides a wide-ranging and incisive treatment of this very taboo subject. She questions many current organization practices, including goal setting, and shows how these can easily result in fear and dysfunctional performance. The practice approaches she provides for reducing fear in organizations will provide real value to managers and HR professionals alike.
Michael Wellin, Chartered Psychologist, and Director at Business Transformation consultants
This book should be read by everyone who has anything to do with managing organizations. It is soundly based in history, the literature and personal experience. Keegan not only describes and explains the increase of fear in organizations but also suggests how to reduce it so that everyone can be happier and more productive.
Emeritus Professor Malcolm Harper, Cranfield University
Whatever the root of fear at the workplace, high-quality leadership-which sees employees as humans, trusts them to be professional and empowers them- seems to be necessary to ensure that such fear does not compromise innovation and productivity. I hope that leaders of academic/corporate organizations read this book and ponder about the environments they are creating at the workplace.
Professor Ranjini Swamy, Goa Institute of Management
