High Standards Don't Require Fear
Summary: Many leaders worry that creating a supportive environment means lowering standards. Or that the only way to achieve high performance is by keeping people under pressure.
Both assumptions miss the point.
The most effective leaders create environments where people are challenged to do their best work without being afraid to speak up, admit mistakes or question assumptions. That balance is harder to achieve, but it is what allows individuals and organisations to perform at their best.
In our last article, I reflected on the first half of René Magritte's observation that "it is much easier to terrorise than to charm" and why fear remains such a tempting management tool. If you missed it, you can find it here.
But the longer I sat with the quote, the more interested I became in the second half.
What exactly does "charm" look like in leadership?
The more I thought about it, the more I concluded that Magritte probably wasn't talking about charisma. When I think of the best leaders I’ve worked with, I wouldn't necessarily describe them as charming. Some are warm and approachable. Others are direct, demanding and, at times, a little intimidating.
What unites them is not their personality. It is the trust they create.
They expect a lot from their teams. They don’t tolerate sloppy work or avoid difficult conversations. In fact, some of them are among the toughest people I know. Yet people rarely doubt their intent. They know that challenge is always about improving the work, never about diminishing the person.
That distinction matters. Because it means people are willing to ask questions, flag mistakes and disagree. Disagreement and debate becomes part of doing great work, not something to be avoided.
Yet, too often, leaders still feel they have to choose. To either be demanding OR supportive. To hold people accountable OR to create psychological safety. To drive performance OR look after people.
Of course we know the best leaders don't choose. They do both.
One question I often ask clients during coaching is this: If somebody in your team realises they have messed up, what is their first instinct? To tell you because they know you'll help solve the problem and have their back? Or try to fix it in the hope that you won’t notice?
The answer tells you a lot about your leadership.
People don't hide mistakes because they don't care. They usually hide them because they worry about the consequences. They don’t want to look stupid, disappoint their boss or get blamed.
Ironically, that often creates far bigger problems than the original mistake ever would have.
Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety provides some helpful insights. She found that high-performing teams often report more mistakes than less successful teams, not fewer. Not because they mess up more, but because people know it’s ok, even expected, to speak up when something goes wrong. As a result problems surface earlier, corrective action happens faster, and improvements are made before problems become entrenched.
In other words, the healthiest teams can sometimes look as though they have more problems because they are more willing to talk about them.
Notice what that doesn't mean:
It doesn't mean lowering standards.
It doesn't mean avoiding difficult conversations.
It definitely doesn't mean accepting poor performance.
Questions worth reflecting on
If you lead people, ask yourself:
When somebody disagrees with me, what usually happens next?
How comfortable are people admitting they don't know something?
Do difficult conversations in my team lead to learning, or to conflict?
Am I holding people to high standards AND at the same time treating them with respect and dignity?
What would people say it feels like to bring me bad news?
The best leaders I've worked with all seemed to combine two qualities: They were clear about the standards, but they never enforced them through fear. At Liebfrog, we describe this as leading with clarity and decency.
Fear may produce compliance.
Clarity and decency create something much better: an environment where people feel confident to bring their judgement, ideas, and best thinking.
And times when adaptability, learning and innovation matter more than ever, that's the difference that counts.
October 2026
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