Hi {{first_name}}

In most senior leadership teams, there's a moment when the challenge stops.

It rarely happens all at once. Nobody announces it. There's no meeting where someone says, "I've decided to stop being honest." It's gradual — a question not asked, a concern swallowed, a nod where there used to be a challenge.

Research from the Journal of Accountancy found that only 26% of leaders actively create the conditions for their people to speak up. Which means in most organisations, the real thinking stays hidden.

I see this pattern constantly in my coaching work. A CEO tells me the team is aligned. Then I speak to the direct reports individually, and the picture is completely different. The strategy everyone endorsed in the room is the strategy half of them have serious doubts about. They just didn't say so.

The difficult thing about this pattern is that it's almost invisible from the top. Leaders often read quiet rooms as agreement. In my experience, that stillness more often means someone weighed up the cost of speaking and decided it wasn't worth it.

That calculation is worth paying attention to — not because you've necessarily done anything wrong, but because the conditions that create it can build up without anyone noticing.

One thing worth trying this week: in your next one-to-one, ask a direct report —

"What's something you think I need to hear that you haven't told me yet?"

Then wait. Don't rush to respond. Don't explain. Just listen.

The answer might surprise you. Or the pause before the answer might tell you everything.

Friday: a conversation that changed how I coach.

Gavin