The right decision was made. But nobody explained it. No context. No reasoning. No communication.
The team is left guessing: "Why did this happen?" "What does it mean for us?" "Should we be worried?"
This is Leader's Silence — strong decisions delivered without communication create anxiety, not clarity. Even correct choices, wrapped in silence, look like chaos.
The Mechanics
The choice might be perfect. But without the "why," people fill in blanks with fear. Rumor replaces reason. Speculation becomes narrative.
Silence doesn't protect anyone. It transfers the burden of interpretation to everyone else. Now the team spends energy decoding instead of executing.
Each unexplained decision chips away at confidence. Not because decisions are wrong, but because the pattern suggests: "You don't need to know."
The Antidote
Over-communicate context. Not just what was decided, but why. What alternatives were considered. What tradeoffs were made.
Proactive framing. Don't wait for questions. Anticipate anxiety and address it before it becomes rumor.
Leadership isn't just about making decisions. It's about making them legible. A brilliant choice that nobody understands isn't leadership — it's just action.
It creates a vacuum that fills with fear.