When Silence is Strategy
Strategic restraint requires confidence in purpose and the discipline to let short-term pressure pass.
Today, we are all operating in an environment that rewards immediacy. When a news topic emerges that is directly relevant, or adjacent, to your organization’s business, the urge to make a statement or post on social channels is strong.
Often times that pressure is internal to an organization, with stakeholders and staff expecting leaders to comment quickly, clearly and publicly. That pressure can also come from boards, partners, donors and/or peers as well.
Silence is often interpreted as weakness, indecision or avoidance while speed and visibility are treated as markers of strong leadership.
But always having a position comes at a cost. When organizations feel compelled to comment on every issue, they often trade long-term credibility for short-term reassurance, and in doing so, weaken the authority they are trying to project.
The Difference Between a Position and a Mandate
Before deciding as a leader to comment, there is an important distinction to make between position and mandate.
A position answers: Where do we stand on this issue?
A mandate answers: Why is this ours to speak on at all?
When leaders speak without mandate, they run the possibility of stretching their credibility, inviting political interpretation or creating expectations they cannot sustain over-time.
How Constant Positioning Erodes Authority
We have all seen it, a leader who posts first when news hits or an organization constantly posting statements to their channels when news breaks over fear of missing out. Overtime, it becomes performative.
Always having a position has the potential to erode institutional voice. It makes consistency harder over time and turns values into talking points rather than operating principles.
Organizations that comment on everything eventually sound authoritative on nothing.
How to Determine When Having a Position is Necessary
The issue is not about having positions. It is having them indiscriminately. To prevent the cycle from continuing here is a check list to determine when having a position matters:
The issue directly intersects with mission or mandate
Silence would contradict stated values
Stakeholders are materially affected
The organization has something substantive to contribute
Having a positioning strategy within your organization can offer practical clarity when issues arise. It can help you anchor public communication to your mandate and explain internally why restraint is being exercised.
Accepting short-term discomfort by not following the positioning crowd will give you a greater exchange with long-term credibility.
Restraint is an active choice and is an expression of disciplined leadership. Why? Because it requires confidence in purpose, comfort with ambiguity, trust in long-term credibility and a willingness to disappoint those who have immediate expectations, be they internal or external.