In 2013, the U.S. Air Force realized that more than 20 percent of the nuclear officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base had cheated on their certification exam. Many other officers knew about the problem but didn’t report it. The root cause for this dangerous behavior was a culture of fear that led launch officers to believe they had to receive perfect test scores to get promoted.

Fear is not risk management. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Fear kills initiative and pro-social behaviors. It renders your smart, talented people useless. It suffocates innovation and undermines your future growth. Paradoxically, the business becomes more risky, as critical conversations are either avoided or under-addressed.

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