“Silence” is probably the last word you would expect associated with success in leadership, and although the business world is full of stories of successful CEOs like Henry Ford and Steve Jobs who run their companies with wisdom and rigor to reap the desired success, sometimes silence is the key. The master of the situation, as his influence was stronger than words, said the inventor and artist Da Vinci, “Nothing strengthens power more than silence.”
The success of the silent leadership method depends to some extent on the culture of your workplace and the personalities of your employees. In fact, only those who master it will benefit from this method by following some of the characteristics of silence that have increased the control and success of some entrepreneurial business leaders! In this article, we will show you how to develop six characteristics of silence that will make you a successful leader.
First: Silence builds trust.
If you want to build honest relationships in your life, you must first build trust, and to build trust, you must listen! The most important element of establishing a successful relationship in any area of life is not to talk about yourself too much and to open the way for the other party to speak until it is your turn. When the other party realizes that you are a good listener, he will listen to you without hesitation.
Second: Focusing on a specific idea
If you are discussing a topic, you should be careful to discuss it in a short and simple way. It may not be silence, but using a lot of words may lose the idea or concept you are discussing.
If you’re in a meeting, for example, and you don’t answer every question that gets asked and you don’t discuss every idea that gets discussed, that can weaken your position and make you look like you want to control the conversation. Successful leaders don’t do that. They answer a question or two and focus their discussion on specific topics without distracting from the main idea at hand.
Third: Silence is useful when negotiating.
Silence is the most powerful tool you can use to keep others from knowing what’s inside of you. When negotiating, the silent person makes the other party confused about what he thinks.
In job interviews, for example, if the employer tells you the value of the salary, don’t say yes or no right away; just shut up for a while, and you’ll see how he’ll start talking again because of the resulting calmness and mention information you might need to know.
Fourth: The silence of leaders is inspiring to others.
If you want to become a leader, just follow the approach of successful leaders. A successful leader does not tell you what you need to do in order to achieve the goals he has achieved and the success he has reached to get to where he is now. Rather, he makes you draw a map of success for yourself. If you are a successful leader, you will not tell your team what, how, and why they should do their work, but rather you must give them the opportunity to share their ideas and ask their questions. It is your role here to figure out who has the skill to become a successful leader among them.
True silent leadership also requires a great deal of emotional intelligence, more than it does in other leadership styles, as you are still at the helm of leading the team, but you give the team the perception that they are each their own leader. You give them the opportunity to share their ideas and implement them, but you do it astutely, so they still work within the overarching frameworks you’ve built that of course aim to lead the company down a well-defined path as well as make the best decisions for your company.
Fifth: Silence helps you get honest answers.
When you ask a question, it must be brief and clear and focus on a specific point, and all you have to do is remain silent and wait for the answer, as you do not give the other party an opportunity to even think about it, and thus you will get an honest answer.
Sixth: Silence helps you be the center of your life.
Never allow others to drain the energy of silence from you; stay away from them and stay silent; that saves you more energy to do a lot of other things. Focus on yourself by setting aside a time for silence in the morning, and you can also get a rest in silence while you work. All you have to do is close the door in an isolated room and remain silent; the calmness will make you feel comfortable.
“We all need time to be alone, and we need time to be silent” says Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global.
Finally, there are times when silence speaks louder than words, so know when silence can serve you as a leader in your professional and even personal life. This type of leadership is powerful and effective, in which silent leaders exercise power through their actions, not their words, and, more importantly, they lead their team through earned respect rather than force of character.
Read also: 15 ways to start an interesting speech
