The Loudest Leadership Skill is Often the Quietest One

Mozart once said, “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

As a classically trained pianist, I’ve always felt that to my core.

Because silence isn't empty. It's instructive.

Stand at the edge of a canyon or the top of a mountain, and you’ll hear what I mean: the loudness of quiet. That kind of stillness rearranges you. It makes you pay attention. Not just to what’s around you, but to what’s within you.

And when it comes to leadership, the same holds true.

The best leaders don’t just listen to the words.

They listen to everything. The tone. The shift in body language. The thing that wasn’t said but hung heavy in the air.

Recently, I sat with a client who had just lost a key member of her leadership team. On paper, it was good news; the team member had been struggling, and their resignation freed the business to grow. But when she told me, I saw her face drop. The sadness. The weight. The conflict.

I had my response ready. I was about to say, “This is actually a good thing. It opens up so much possibility.”

But something in me said, Not yet.

So I didn’t.

I held the space instead. Let her feel the grief of losing someone she cared about. Let the silence do the work. Eventually, she filled it: with her own realization. Her own next step.

That’s when I knew: she didn’t need fixing. She needed witnessing.

And that’s the leadership shift.

From filling space to holding space.

From reacting to listening.

From leading with answers to leading with attention.

There's as much data in what you can't see, feel, hear, touch or total.... as in what you can.

So if you want to lead better — start listening better.

To what’s said. To what’s unsaid. To what your people are really trying to tell you.

Because sometimes, the most powerful move you can make… is none at all.

To better,

Jess