The Prince

This debate requires that you draw on only love or fear as your leadership style. In real life this is not a very good idea. One of my good friends had a step-dad as a kid who was feared but not loved. This led to a dysfunctional household and when his wife finally became financially independent, she divorced him. Sure, people obey you from the start but it creates a dysfunctional leadership matrix and people will look for the quickest opportunity to remove you. A leadership style based purely on love but no fear is also a very bad idea. To have such a leadership style, one would have to never punish workers for mis-steps. So that means no harsh criticism, firing, etc. People would have to be productive only out of love for you. This is a weak form of leadership and was exemplified by the leadership of one of my bosses. Lets call her Lisa. Lisa was always very nice and whenever a worker was out of line, she did nothing harsh to stop them. She never fired anyone who was incompetent. While this leadership was not ideal, at least we had some semblance of an organization, even though it was not very good. In a leadership style based purely on fear, one would end up making so many enemies that eventually either everyone will leave or someone will replace you. These organizations are even worse. Fear as a controlling agent In an ideal world you would be powerful enough to make people fear any action that would go against your will so much that they will never do it. The problem here is that you are not all powerful. People will be able to get away with things. For example Bob, in the example above was so feared that his family would not bring problems to him because they thought he would be angered by them. This resulted in concurring family problems that just kept happening that could have been resolved but didn't. In a company or country, this means that there will be problems that will go unremediated. Another problem is that people will hide bad things they are doing. One reason for this is that when people fear someone without loving him, hate is going to spring. Of all the professors I can think of, the professors who were feared by us without being loved were also hated and mocked behind their backs. So fear also produces hidden ridicule and disrespect. For example Bob banned his kids from bringing food into their rooms. Since his kids hated him, they would sneak food in when he wasn't around. Fear-based leaderships produces an ineffective organization. When you are loved, people will be more likely to do things just for your approval. I loved my father and did things as a kid just to get him to notice me. People will go out of their way to impress those they love. I had a friend I really liked, and I was constantly trying to impress him and make him like me more. When he had trouble with his car and called me, I was glad to go over and help him. If you love your leader, you are more likely to bring your problems to him and see them solved. This created a more functional workplace. People are less likely to step out of line if they want to impress you and make your life better because they love you. People won't overthrow you One possible argument is that at least if people fear you, they won't try to overthrow you. Unfortunately, you are not always powerful enough to do so. For example, when Bob's wife was powerful enough to earn her own money independently, she left him. Now he can only see his kids every other weekend and they hate doing it. You almost never remain powerful and on top forever. You get old. When you get old enough and people realize that your abilities are diminishing, they will take their chance to overthrow you. You also make mistakes and people can use that as a weakness and overthrow you. Keep in mind that even if you become a manager, it is unlikely that you will have no managers or people who can have you fired yourself. If you are constantly making enemies and creating a toxic workplace someone above you will likely have you replaced. When you are loved, there might be the chance that some jerk might try to take your place. But, since you are loved, fewer people will be likely to try to do that. Also, you will have many allies who will be willing to fight your battles for you. Teacher Example Yes, teachers who are feared as less likely to be talked back to. But I have noticed that these teachers tend to be very lonely. And that brings me to another point. When you are not loved, people are not legitimately friendly to you and you tend to spend more time alone. Plus, you begin to realize that people hate and scorn you. That is a really sad place to be even if you are powerful. Bob was a lonely guy and whenever people gave him recognition, he was very happy and thought of them very highly, and least for a time. However, this happened rarely, and even when he was with his family he was lonely and unhappy and this only aggravating his anger issues. When you are loved, you have people to talk to, people who give to you, and that feeling is great. It is the greatest thing to be loved by the people who follow you.