“When you prefer to stick to the tried and true, not [recognizing that things around you are changing], then you create a negative work environment and miss [countering] major threats to your company,” says Kanter. This type of leadership prevents employees from offering new ideas because of the resistance they expect when making suggestions. Instead, managers should set up a system through compensation and promotion to reward innovation. “If an employee thinks telling you that you’re all wrong is going to cost them a promotion or a bonus, then quite rationally they will keep silent, unless they are willing to risk their job,” says Sydney Finkelstein, author of Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes (Portfolio; $26.95). “Not too many people are willing to do that,” he adds.