{"id":25353,"date":"2026-08-02T17:17:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T12:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25353"},"modified":"2026-08-02T17:17:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T12:17:36","slug":"we-dont-get-as-much-done-because-people-are-afraid-of-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25353","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We don\u2019t get as much done because people are afraid of you\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Mark Cuban once believed he was an approachable boss. But one blunt conversation with his cofounder forced him to rethink how he ran his companies.\u00a0<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;People are afraid of you,&#8221; Cuban recalled his <a href=\"http:\/\/broadcast.com\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broadcast.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Broadcast.com&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Broadcast.com<\/a> business partner Todd Wagner telling him years ago. &#8220;We don&#8217;t get as much done because people are afraid of you.&#8221;<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Speaking on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_Jv6OfZ36VU\" data-ylk=\"slk:Trailblazers%20Podcast;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Trailblazers Podcast&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em>Trailblazers Podcast<\/em><\/a> last month, the billionaire entrepreneur and <em>Shark Tank<\/em> star, who celebrated his 68th birthday on Friday, explained how his leadership approach has evolved over time.\u00a0<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;I thought I was nice, I got along with everybody,&#8221; Cuban explained, saying at the time, he built his leadership style around the &#8220;dominant&#8221; CEO stereotypes he grew up with. &#8220;It turns out my perception was different. Adapting there and learning to be nice and kind to people made life a lot easier for me.&#8221;<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->The shift wasn&#8217;t just personal\u2014it had operational consequences. Cuban said that when employees are intimidated, collaboration slows and talent walks, and it was his &#8220;biggest professional challenge.&#8221;<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;If people don&#8217;t want to work with you or for you, that&#8217;s a problem,&#8221; Cuban said. &#8220;You lose good talent.&#8221;<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"text text-block heading text-left neo-font-heading-lg  yf-18d6y07\" role=\"heading\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Cuban&#8217;s leadership ventures<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->In 1995, Cuban and Wagner founded <a href=\"http:\/\/broadcast.com\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broadcast.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Broadcast.com&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Broadcast.com<\/a>, the streaming and audio company that <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/yahoo\/?utm_source=search&amp;utm_medium=advanced_search&amp;utm_campaign=search_link_clicks\" data-ylk=\"slk:Yahoo;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Yahoo&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Yahoo<\/a> acquired in 1999 in a $5.7 billion stock deal, officially placing the founders on the map as billionaires of the dot-com boom.\u00a0<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->They went on to launch 2929 Entertainment in 2003 as an entertainment development and production firm that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.2929entertainment.com\/2929productions\" data-ylk=\"slk:produced;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;produced&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">produced<\/a> more than 20 films for theatrical and direct-to-DVD release.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->In 2000, Cuban became the principal owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks after he <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/04\/09\/mark-cuban-regrets-who-he-sold-dallas-mavericks-to\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:purchased;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;purchased&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">purchased<\/a> the team for $285 million from H. Ross Perot Jr. Two decades later, Cuban sold the majority of his stake in the team for <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2023\/12\/27\/dallas-mavericks-sold-mark-cuban-adelson-nba\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:%243.5%20billion;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;$3.5 billion&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">$3.5 billion<\/a> due to the financial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/48356499\/mark-cuban-says-regrets-selling-mavericks-adelson-dumont-families\" data-ylk=\"slk:pressure;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;pressure&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">pressure<\/a> of maintaining the team\u2014a testament to the advice he offered on the <em>Trailblazers Podcast<\/em>.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;You can learn to improve at pretty much anything,&#8221; said Cuban. &#8220;If you suck at it, you take a step back and you find something else.&#8221;<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"text text-block heading text-left neo-font-heading-lg  yf-18d6y07\" role=\"heading\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->A larger trend in workplace dynamics<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->While Cuban rethought his approach, many workers are still grappling with bosses whose behavior spills into their mental health, finances, and family life.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Research from the <a href=\"https:\/\/theharrispoll.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Toxic-Bosses-Survey-May-2026.pdf\" data-ylk=\"slk:Harris%20Poll;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Harris Poll&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Harris Poll<\/a> published earlier this year found that 34% of workers say their boss gives an impression of being unapproachable, and 66% of those with a toxic boss say they&#8217;ve worked a weekend, holiday, or day off because of their boss. Overall, 47% of workers report increased stress, burnout, or a decline in mental health tied to a toxic boss\u2014with Gen Z workers reporting somewhat less of that at 44%. And 53% of workers with a toxic boss say they&#8217;ve attended therapy to discuss it, compared with 39% of all workers.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: none\" data-testid=\"read-more\">\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Cuban acknowledged that his own habits contributed to the issue. Early in his career, he would often work late into the night until 2 a.m. and wondered why others didn&#8217;t.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;I had no work-life balance and I didn&#8217;t expect anybody else to have it either,&#8221; Cuban said.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->Recently, Cuban has <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/07\/06\/billionaire-mark-cuban-embarrassing-not-pay-employees-well-20-minimum-wage-should-be-standard\/?utm_source=search&amp;utm_medium=advanced_search&amp;utm_campaign=search_link_clicks\" data-ylk=\"slk:applied;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;applied&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">applied<\/a> that same scrutiny to pay practices, calling low wages &#8220;embarrassing&#8221; for profitable companies and urging employers to raise hourly rates<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->&#8220;When I heard people who worked for a company I invested in (but didn&#8217;t run) needed government assistance, I made sure they all got raises,&#8221; Cuban wrote in a June <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mcuban\/status\/2068414667945279582?s=20\" data-ylk=\"slk:post;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;post&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">post<\/a> on X.<!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\"><!-- HTML_TAG_START -->This story was originally featured on <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/07\/31\/mark-cuban-cofounder-leadership-style-feedback-ceo\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:Fortune.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;source:content-canvas%20default\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Fortune.com&quot;,&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yTrafficOrigin&quot;:&quot;content-canvas default&quot;}\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Fortune.com<\/a><!-- HTML_TAG_END -->  <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mark Cuban once believed he was an approachable boss. But one blunt conversation with his cofounder forced him to rethink how he ran his companies.\u00a0 &#8220;People are afraid of you,&#8221; Cuban recalled his Broadcast.com business partner Todd Wagner telling him years ago. &#8220;We don&#8217;t get as much done because people are afraid of you.&#8221; Speaking&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/775AC3414C9F84FD69687FAFB5C0180828E5C2FABADE22431E4901171D0EA8BB\/subgraphmysterio\/resizefill_w1200_h800;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Ffortune_175%2Fb9c9528cc11432c1f8aca8e46de8dac9","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}