Sophie was Head of Product at a fast-growing tech company.
Her team’s Slack channel was always busy – questions, updates, urgent requests.
But for days at a time, one thing stayed the same: Sophie’s name never lit up.
She wasn’t lazy or avoiding work. She was in meetings, responding to a few direct pings, hitting her own deadlines.
But as a leader, she wasn’t really there.
When leadership goes quiet
At first, no one said anything. Projects kept moving. Targets were still technically on track.
But then things started to slip:
- Deadlines stretched because no one wanted to act without Sophie’s input.
- Customers started complaining about slow decisions.
- High performers – people who thrived on clarity and momentum – quietly started updating their CVs.
- Those who stayed? They second-guessed themselves, played safe, and did just enough to get by.
The silence wasn’t about remote work or hybrid schedules.
It was about leadership presence – and the cost of its absence.
The turning point
One exhausted team member finally said what everyone else had been thinking:
“We thought we needed more process. What we needed was a leader who could actually lead.”
When Sophie read that comment, it hit her harder than any performance review. She realised she’d been leading from behind her inbox, not in front of her team.
The solution wasn’t a new workflow or software. It was about behaviour – how Sophie listened, how she set direction, how she showed up for her people.
The answer: coaching that met Sophie where she was, and built change that would ripple across her team.
What happened next?
The first change was simple: Sophie slowed down to listen instead of just instruct.
She started setting clear priorities so her team could move confidently, without waiting for her sign-off.
And she made meetings count – whether in person or on video – so people left knowing what mattered and feeling heard.
One month later, the Slack channel looked different. Questions were answered quickly. Decisions flowed. The team’s energy was back.
They hit their next product milestone two weeks early – and with less friction than ever before.
Why it matters
At Exigence Leadership, this is what we do: meet leaders where they are – and make sure they don’t stay there.
We don’t train leaders; we coach them using evidence-based methods to create lasting behaviour change and culture shifts that actually drive results.
Because leadership isn’t just about what you do. It’s about how you show up.
Here’s what you can do
If even one of your key leaders is leading from silence, it’s already costing you momentum.
Start the conversation today. ➡️ Exigence provides a full suite of evidence-based business coaching solutions, driven by a desire to help individuals and teams to achieve their performance potential. Find out more here or contact us to talk through how we can support you.
The idea for this article was inspired by the Guinness ‘Empty Chair’ advert – a reminder that sometimes absence speaks louder than presence.
