Leadership in Unprecedented Times: Choosing Voice Over Silence

I remember the early days of the pandemic when the word “unprecedented” became the headline of the world. Every email from a company, every news anchor, every conversation started with these unprecedented times. And between lockdown days blurring together, watching breakouts happen across the country, telling people they were on mute as we were all figuring out Zoom for the first time—watching the world shift under our feet felt bizarre.

In the middle of all that upheaval, I remember reading about the murder of George Floyd and feeling gut-punched, heartbroken, and completely stuck. It wasn’t just the global crisis—it was personal. It was cultural. 

I was caught between a swirl of emotions and a flood of questions: What can I do? What should I say? Will saying something help? And yet, my silence stretched out longer than I wanted it to. I had content scheduled for my business that suddenly felt tone-deaf. I didn’t want to post like nothing was happening, but I also didn’t know what to say that would feel meaningful or helpful.

In the end, I said nothing.

Silence can feel safe. It can feel efficient. It can even feel wise. And sometimes it is. A pause can be a powerful thing—a chance to breathe, to reflect, to choose a thoughtful response instead of a reactive one.

But silence is rarely neutral.

The Cost of Staying Quiet

Lately, I’ve been feeling the word “unprecedented” circling back again. It’s in the political division and rising hostility we see in the headlines. It’s in the rapid-fire disruption of AI, the economy, tariffs, and rising prices. It’s in the sense that every week we wake up to another news cycle that feels… yes, unprecedented.

And I notice my default tendency creeping back in: to freeze, to wait, to stay quiet until I have the perfect words.

But silence in leadership comes at a cost.

I see this not just with national issues, but in my own daily work as a leader:

• When I notice a pattern with a client but avoid naming it because it’s easier to just do the work myself.

• When I delay a hard conversation with a team member because conflict feels uncomfortable.

• When I let something slide in a partnership because I don’t want to rock the boat.

Each moment of silence may buy me peace in the short term, but over time, unspoken truths pile up. Trust erodes. Small frustrations grow into big ones. And the work of leadership becomes heavier.

Pausing is important. Good leaders pause. They think. They process. They seek wise counsel before acting. But when silence becomes unending, unspoken, and unexamined, it’s different.

Silence might calm the tension in the moment, but it often leaves the elephant in the room. It lets unhealthy patterns go unchallenged. It can make others wonder where we stand—or if we stand at all.

Choosing to Speak, Even If It’s Messy

This post, right here, is me choosing to speak.

Not because I have the perfect words. Not because I know I’ll get it right. But because I believe silence can’t be my default anymore—not in these times, and not in my leadership.

I don’t want to add to the noise, and I don’t want to dehumanize people who see the world differently. But I also don’t want to disengage out of fear.

My commitment is this:

• To keep speaking up, even if my words aren’t perfectly polished.

• To name the hard things in my work and my relationships with courage and compassion.

• To model for my team, my clients, and my community that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about staying present, grounded in your values, and willing to engage.

These times are unprecedented. And they call for unprecedented courage, too.