"Leadership today comes with a peculiar contradiction. The higher someone rises in an organization, the fewer places there are to admit uncertainty. Senior executives are expected to project clarity and confidence even when markets shift overnight, teams fragment, or strategy falters. Yet behind the scenes, many of them are asking the same quiet question: Where can I think out loud without being judged?"
"The need for such spaces has become more urgent in recent years. According to Gallup's 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, global employee engagement has fallen to 23 percent, and managers account for roughly 70 percent of the variance in team engagement. When leaders struggle, the effects ripple outward."
"The Zoom room was already filling with a mix of faces from corporate offices, kitchens, and airport lounges. When she appeared on screen, there was no preamble. She began teaching almost immediately. For the first half hour, she delivered a focused lesson on leadership, trust, or strategy. The tone was calm and direct."
Leaders face growing pressure to project clarity and confidence while lacking safe places to admit uncertainty. Global employee engagement has fallen to 23 percent, and managers account for roughly 70 percent of variance in team engagement. Trust in leadership is fragile, with only 42 percent of respondents globally believing business leaders are trustworthy, and many CEOs describing their roles as deeply lonely. Public learning experiments create opportunities for leaders to learn openly. Admitting uncertainty and combining authenticity with logic and empathy builds trust. Systematic examination of problems improves leadership decisions. Psychological safety increases through consistency, structure, and confidentiality.
Read at Psychology Today
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