Yelling; Disaster or Motivator?

In a recent post in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Michael Schrage explores the concept of yelling at employees in the workplace. Is it bad? A leadership flaw? Or can it actually be a successful motivator?

Is yelling in the workplace bad? A leardership flaw? Or can it actually be a successful motivator?

To see the effects of yelling, Schrage investigates other areas in life where successful leaders have been known to be intense yellers. In the world of sports, numerous elite coaches are notorious for shouting intensely at their talented athletes. For example, Alex Ferguson who is regarded as the most successful coach in the English Premier League, is famous for his “hair dryer treatment”, which involved yelling at such high volume and force that is was like having a hair dryer switched on in your face. As a soccer player for many years, I can definitely attest to being on the bad end of a high-volume coaching session, on several occasions.  Such treatment is also regularly found in military command, and even in more artistic environments such as movie and theatre directing.

Using these patterns, Schrage suggests that the notion that “raising one’s voice represents managerial weakness” is nonsense. However, in practice, an effective leadership style depends entirely on the culture of the workplace and the type of employees working there. If a manager’s style is to use high-vocal force, then he better recruit the employees that respond well to this type of motivation and make sure that yelling is accepted as a sign of encouragement and respect in the businesses culture.

Response to external blog post.

References:

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/11/is-it-ok-to-yell-at-your-employees/

Picture:

http://www.richardwinters.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/I-Am-Not-Yelling-590×393.jpg