Originally posted on LinkedIn
Honestly, I will never understand the leadership style that involves screaming reprimands, insulting voice memos on WhatsApp, 40-message rants in chat, or public humiliation in meetings.
Yesterday we made a mistake on something related to the Ignia community. Tuesday I made a mistake with an important meeting. Last month we made a mistake on content. We’ll keep making mistakes — everyone does.
🌪️ Option 1 (someone told me this actually happened at a “well-known” startup) — the mistake leads to a voice message full of screaming, insults, and “fix it now.” Does it get fixed? Sure. But the team slowly burns out. End result: turnover, frustration.
Maybe the person learns a lot in that “full speed ahead” environment — and they’ll also learn what kind of leader they don’t want to be. But they learn in an unhealthy way, in my opinion.
And there’s an asymmetry — the leader also makes mistakes, but nobody’s going to yell at them, or they yell at each other (even worse!). Uneven culture and conditions.
🍃 Option 2 — the mistake leads to a serious conversation, but no screaming. You acknowledge what went wrong, look at solution options, and the team (not just “the guilty one”) works together to fix it. Does it get fixed? Sure. And people learn in a healthier way. End result: growth + team cohesion + less turnover.
And in this version, leaders can also admit mistakes and go through the same process. The conversation happens with everyone.
You can lead with fear (and it can work). But you can also lead with empathy and respect (and I think it works even better).
What do you think? Does one approach work better than the other in certain situations? Or is one always better?
I personally stay firmly in option 2 no matter what — but maybe I’m wrong.