Heard in the Silence

December 12, 2022?

Dear Leaders,?

In this column and my other commentary, I exhort leaders to saddle up and ride from the front, to speak up and be heard, to be a visible presence for others to see, especially in times of trial and tribulation.?But there are times when leaders should be less visible, albeit not in a diminished presence, and it is important to know how to do so quietly or even silently.?

Quiet leadership takes many forms.?With your own team or unit, it stems from establishing a foundation and culture that makes them capable of functioning as you desire while allowing them the freedom of movement that does not require your presence, to the point of being able to function without you, albeit for limited periods.?In meetings or brainstorming sessions, you’ve reached the point of quiet leadership when they are doing most of the talking and problem solving.?For my team, I would give them an idea, and then let them run with it, making notes or drawing process diagrams while just listening.?It took several gatherings for them to realize I wasn’t saying much, notably because I was famous for liking to hear myself talk.?When they understood that I wanted them to control idea formulation and development, they easily rose to the challenge.?

Operating silently as a leader comes about when working with those outside of your charge and tutelage.?As you establish your reputation in leadership, not only will your own people actively seek you out for guidance, direction, and wisdom, those who are lacking quality leadership will likewise come to you.?This is where it gets challenging in that you don’t want to turn away someone seeking your help, yet you also don’t want to appear to be usurping the authority of a colleague, even if you agree that the other person might be lacking in skill and ability.?Any advice and assistance you dispense should be more in the form of guidance and recommendations rather than direction that could be interpreted as an order, lest other supervisors take offense.?Quiet leadership comes back into play when you work to improve your colleagues and coworkers as leaders, coaching, mentoring, and suggesting to their benefit.??

Another form of silent leadership comes when your boss, and perhaps other powers-that-be in the chain of command are not up to the task.?The Peter Principle famously states that people rise to their level of incompetence, while in government service positions, it’s possible for them to advance well beyond their competence level.?More than causing problems for you, they are the problem, and you have to be the solution.?It was my distinct displeasure to work for a senior supervisor who was not capable of doing anything other than statistics, and lacked the capacity to comprehend the true nature of the mission.?The more she delved into our work in demanding productivity increases, the worse it became.?My workload increased in having to complete the administrative, security, operational, and logistical tasks, along with providing the training and expertise to guide our operations, and run interference for the unit.?One reason for using an old photograph on my LinkedIn page is to minimize the grey hair that markedly increased during my tenure in that position, for I could not directly challenge or undermine those above me, but the rank and file knew that I was actually leading the mission, and my sole consolation was knowing that they supported and appreciated what I was doing.????

Quiet leadership also comes into play when you are part of a project team.?While each project team normally has a leader, these teams are composed of smart people who all have ideas and points of view, and keeping them on track and working toward completion and implementation can be a challenge.?The difficulty multiplies when the project leader is not up to the task.?My government agency often assembled such teams for major projects, and leaders were frequently those who got the job because no one else wanted it.?I came into a project team that was already well underway, and from the first conference call, I could tell that they weren’t progressing.?I knew the project manager was a good person, but not very competent.?Not wanting to call him out in front of the others, I called him after a meeting to get a better feel for their status, and to provide a few suggestions, which he readily adopted.?In future meetings, I would make “suggestions” that gave us what we needed and kept the project on track toward completion.?It didn’t take long for the rest of the team, and our headquarters, to realize who was directing it, but I never took control away from the project manager, and continued to coach him away from the group meetings.?

Paraphrasing a saying favored by President Ronald Reagan, there is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.?True leaders know that whatever you’re doing, it isn’t about you, it is about the people and the mission accomplishment, for when you lead, even when doing so quietly or silently, your leadership will speak for you, and your reputation as a leader will grow, for those that you lead will not be silent about you.?????????????

Sincerely,

Tim