The Sound of Silence

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Patrick Malone
August 18, 2025

Across the country in public agencies striving daily to meet their citizens’ needs, there is a pandemic brewing. And no, it doesn’t require a mask or a vaccination. It’s the growth of organizational silence, and it’s one of the most challenging barriers to workplace effectiveness imaginable.

Organizational silence is far more than simply a lack of communication. Modest communication gaps can occur in any organization at any time. These can be easily remedied through adjusting processes here and there or standardizing modalities. Organizational silence is much more endemic and more dangerous. It is a cultural phenomenon that causes members of an organization to choose to suppress their voice. They purposefully eschew sharing valuable opinions or concerns that could benefit the organization. They check out.

Organizational silence has any number of causes. Layers of bureaucracy nurture silence. So do narcissistic leaders who create environments of panic and repression. These leaders discourage candid discussions and are quick to blame the messenger when anything runs afoul of their personal agendas. Employees react understandably out of fear of reprisal, reassignment or loss of their positions. Others including elected officials, the media and communities play a role as well. When public servants are blamed unjustly by political figures or when news outlets carefully craft stories to cast doubt on an individual civil servant, the frenzy begins. Citizens so easily swayed by the latest popular sentiment jump on the bandwagon.

It’s no wonder that the people we depend on the most to deliver civilization to the rest of us resort to silence. It’s a survival mechanism. But it has devastating organizational impact. A lack of information flow across the agency contributes to poor decision-making. Well-informed strategic planning becomes a fantasy as leaders grapple for data that isn’t shared freely. Employee engagement and commitment falter while sick time and turnover increase. Organizational learning and innovation grind to a halt, leading to inefficient and costly operations. In one recent study, researchers found that silence among nursing teams negatively impacted not only job satisfaction but clinical and team performance as well. Nurses in the study were also more likely to leave their job.

University of St Thomas professor Chad Brinsfield researched organizational silence and has suggested six potential causes of the silence phenomenon:

• Deviant silence – the intentional suppression of information for the sole purpose of creating turmoil in and around the organization and its individuals.

• Relational silence – out of an abundance of caution, an employee chooses silence so as not to create unnecessary stress and damage a work relationship.

• Defensive silence – due to fear of reprisal for speaking truth to power, this can occur anytime someone believes they would suffer unfairly simply by speaking up.

• Diffident silence – characterized by someone who lacks the personal skills necessary to speak up, sometimes due to a lack of confidence.

• Ineffectual silence – occurs when an employee makes an assessment that the information they possess is of little relative importance.

• Disengaged silence – happens when an employee essentially gives up because they feel a lack of engagement or connection with the organization.

As leaders, the solutions for organizational silence are as complex as the dynamic itself. Since organizational silence is a deeply embedded and complex dynamic, so too are the solutions. Organizational structures and processes are easy targets. Flattening hierarchies and building cross-functional interaction opens doors for conversation and education. But in reality, the responsibility for tackling organizational silence falls on those in charge. Visible and observable changes in leadership must occur immediately. Leaders must openly welcome criticism and dissent while rewarding those who challenge organizational norms. Feedback channels that allow employees to share their concerns anonymously are well advised. When these are coupled with immediate public response to the feedback by leadership, the seeds for trust and growth are sown.

A quick side note: I am reminded of a federal inspector general who embarked on a 360-evaluation of their performance in a large agency. The results were devastating. They were called every name in the book and roundly criticized by almost everybody in the agency. These were the kind of responses that would cause someone to think very seriously about early retirement or, at best, a lateral career move. The response by the IG? They held an all-hands meeting and literally read out loud, anonymously, every single comment that people had written about them. At the end of the list, they looked out at the audience and said, “I have a lot of work to do and I need your help.”

Let’s break the silence.

---

Author: Patrick S. Malone is the Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. He is a frequent guest lecturer and author on leadership and organizational dynamics in the public service. His co-authored book Leading with Love and Laughter – A Practical Guide to Letting Go and Getting Real was released in Spring 2021. His new co-authored book Little BIG Decisions – A Leader Imperative for Lasting Impact will be available in Winter 2025. Follow him at sutchmalone.com

(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...