140: Why Your Best People Go Quiet

Leadership Sandbox: Strategies to Uplevel Workplace Communication, Team Collaboration, and Your Corporate Culture · Jul 23, 2026 · 11m

Your highest performer has not pushed back in months. The meetings feel smoother. Decisions move faster. Everyone seems to be on the same page.

Before you call that alignment, look again.

Your best people did not suddenly run out of opinions. They may have learned that speaking honestly costs more than staying quiet. Maybe the punishment was obvious. More often, it was smaller: the tightened jaw, the defensive answer, the quick dismissal, the meeting invitation that stopped coming. No one had to announce that candor was unwelcome. Your behavior did the talking.

In Episode 140 of Leadership…