Silence Won't Do It - Episode 2: Silence from the Cockpit

Financial pressures, restructures, workforce challenges and increasing demand have become familiar realities for many organisations. Most people know there is turbulence.

The question is whether leaders are communicating enough about how they intend to navigate it.

In this episode of Silence Won't Do It, we explore the leadership challenge of communicating during uncertain times. Using the analogy of turbulence on a flight, we reflects on why people often need more than acknowledgement of the problem. They need confidence that there is a plan, clarity about what lies ahead and an understanding of the role they can play in helping the organisation move forward.

Because when the aircraft starts shaking, hearing from the cockpit matters.

🎙️ In the ZOUD Podcast with Sylvia Stevenson

Exploring the conversations many organisations avoid, but can no longer afford to ignore.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:11

Welcome to the Zoud with me, Sylvia Stevenson. In the last episode, we explored the human tax of silence and the emotional costs that people can pay when concerns, frustrations, and experiences remain unspoken. Now, over the last few weeks, I found myself thinking about the times that we're living through and beginning to consider it as a time of turbulence. When I think about turbulence, I'm not simply thinking about a plane shaking in the sky. I'm thinking about those periods when certainty gives way to uncertainty, when familiar routines start changing, when difficult decisions need to be made, and people aren't entirely sure what lies ahead, but know that something is shifting around them. And this feels like the reality of many organizations today, right? We know about the financial pressures, restructures, workplace challenges, and these have all created conditions where many people are trying to make sense of what the future might look like. We know that people are wondering what this means, for example, their teams, what it means for their roles, their organizations, and in some cases, what this means for their own futures. Now we know that most organizations are talking about the turbulence. We're hearing about financial pressures, savings requirements, workplace challenges and difficult conversations. So people know that there are challenges ahead. They can see the turbulence for themselves. But the question that I've been struggling with is whether we're talking enough about how we're going to navigate it. And that got me thinking about flying. You know, I would never want to fly with a pilot who has never encountered turbulence. Not because turbulence is enjoyable, but because I want confidence that the person at the controls has successfully navigated difficult conditions before. Whenever I've experienced turbulence on a flight, what I find most reassuring is hearing the pilot speak. You know, we see the fasten your seatbelt signs come on, and people that are wandering around the plane are asked to return to their seat and fasten their seatbelt. And the pilot doesn't pretend that the turbulence isn't happening or try to convince us that everything is fine. Instead, they acknowledge what is happening, explain what they know, and provide confidence that there is a plan for getting through it safely. Now it's interesting to note that the turbulence itself doesn't immediately disappear, but something important changes. People have a better understanding of what is happening around them and greater confidence in the journey ahead. And I wonder whether there is a lesson in that for managers and leaders. Because in many organizations today, people already know that there is turbulence. They understand all of the pressures and challenges. What they may be less clear about is how those challenges will be navigated. They want to know what lies ahead and what is needed from them along the way. And that's the part that I've been reflecting on. We know that organizations are communicating the reality of the challenge. Yet I'm not always sure that they're communicating with the same clarity about the route through it. And in the absence of that clarity, people naturally start trying to make sense of the future for themselves. Assumptions emerge, rumors grow, and uncertainty begins to create its own narrative. And this is where silence becomes important. Not silence from employees in this case, but silence from leadership. Because when people understand there is a problem, but don't understand the plan, silence from the cockpit can become a source of uncertainty in its own right. Perhaps leadership in times like these isn't about having all the answers. Perhaps it's about communicating more openly enough that people understand the reality of the challenge, the direction of travel, and more importantly, the role that they can play in helping the organization move forward. Remember, people don't always expect perfection, but they do expect leadership. Because when the aircraft starts shaking, hearing from the cockpit truly matters. Thank you very much for listening. I'm Sylvia Stevenson, and I'll see you next in the Zoudskin.