The Sound of Silence - As a Leader, As a Coach, As a Human being

What is Silence?

Is it Absence of sound? Absence of sound is simply 'no sound', right? Then What is Silence?

I would say, Silence is 'Feeling Sound, not hearing it with ears'.

?? Do you agree if I say Silence mostly has an emotion attached to it?

Be it the silence from happiness, silence from love, silence from hate, silence from sadness, silence from anger or silence from fear, or silence from any of the feelings.

??Do you also agree if I say Silence without any baggage of these emotions exist too?

And, we use both these aspects of silence in our day to day life.

I would specifically want to mention three aspects where Silence can be used as a very powerful tool.

1. As a Leader
2. As a Coach
3. As a Human Being

Silence as a Leader

If you are a Leader, Silence is your tool to 'Listen' to your Team. In a conversation with a team member, you can use silence in two ways.

1?? Observe Silence form the team member. When he/she goes silent, try to decode that silence.

Does it has the baggage of emotions attached to it? if so, what emotion?

or

Is that a silence to think?

This will help you to take the conversation from the cognitive surface level to deep layers, be it logically or emotionally. If you are such a leader, you will create a wonderful trusted space for your team members. A good leader is not the one who enhances productivity of team, but the one who enhances morale of the team. When Team morale is boosted, productivity is an easy outcome. You don't have to scream for that, it will happen by itself.

2?? The second way a leader can use Silence is, using silence as a tool from his side. In a conversation, be silent when needed.

Ask a question and be silent. Give space for the other person to think and respond.

In a brain storming session, put an idea on the table and be silent. Allow to evoke the creativity of others.

Silence As a Coach

For a Coach, Silence is their key instrument. Like how a leader can take conversation to deeper levels, a coach can take conversations beneath the surface layers with the help of silence. There are lot of applications of silence in coaching, I would like to pick two, in this article.

1?? Allow the Coachee to Explore:- Do not interrupt the silence of a client when they are exploring or wandering in their thought-world. They might have started to search in that world of new insights, hopes and opportunities and 'A word from you' can pull them back from that world, shutting down immense opportunities for a breakthrough moment.

2?? Invite Coachee to a world of possibilities:- As a coach when you ask a thought provoking question, make it short and crisp and then stop. Don't try to explain further unless coachee ask for it. The silence may feel uncomfortable in the beginning for both parties, but learn to be comfortable with that uncomfortableness. New doors open when one shows the courage to put themselves in uncomfortable situations. Make sure you use Active listening and maintain good presence even in this silence, because silence may speak louder than words!

Silence As a Human Being

As a human being, I would like to bring up two samples of using silence powerfully.

1?? As a human being, without holding any of the identities in workplace or personal life, what remains is 'Silence'. A most treasured quality one has!

In silence, you grow.

In silence of yourself, you learn more than what you learned ever in academics all the years.

In silence of yourself, is the real wisdom evokes.

When you silence unwanted chatters of mind, and listen to the sound of silence, you hear and learn more. More about yourself, more about the systems in this universe, more about the magical powerful device of human mind-body-soul.

Find time to be silent and be with yourself, each day if possible. If you cannot spend time to dedicate for meditation, even while doing other things, focus on the silence within. Open eyed focus is a kind of meditation. Instead of excuses and reasonings, find ways to do and then experience the magic behind.

2?? The second use of silence for human being is to connect with other fellow beings. Most of the time we are too busy sharing our thoughts, experiences, worries and concerns, that we forget to be silent and listen to the other person.

So many relationships can be saved, just by being silent and giving space for the other person. You don't have to solve things for others, you just need to give them the space to be heard.

Silence in listening, is a best gift you can give to others, use it wisely!

-The End-

?? About the Author and her Program Initiatives, to bring a difference in the world ????

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