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Teamwork thrives when there is a balance between intentional talk and intentional silences.

Introducing pockets of silence in meetings can prevent groupthink and favor strategic and inclusive decisions.

Practicing silence together with colleagues can help the team better align with shared intentions and values.

Work meetings are often the birthplace of groupthink—a dynamic that favors conformism and harmony over critical thinking[1][2]. In other words, when people remain too quiet and let decision-making follow the crowd, opportunities for needed disruptions can go missing, even if those disruptions could have led to better strategies. We do not always dare to say what we think is the best decision or call out suggestions that would let experienced members out. Similarly, we do not always genuinely mean what we end up saying in meetings, especially if we choose to please those in power rather than be honest.

It is challenging to be assertive and collaborate while juggling multiple fireballs, such as time pressure, power dynamics, or budgets. In addition, our cultural, personality, or educational backgrounds can lead many of us to feel we are wired to different frequencies from some of our colleagues, given the apparent misalignment between values and actions within a team. We know it in theory: including as many diverse perspectives as possible when working together could benefit innovation[3]. However, we still have a long way to go in our aspirations to be cooperative, inclusive, curious, and respectful toward those who defy our preferred ways of thinking or acting[4].

While too much quietness in meetings can lead to biased decisions and power misuse, certain silences act as catalysts of meaning, mattering, and innovation. Here is a paradox—many of us tend to avoid silences in meetings because quiet moments can amplify a sense of suspense and uncertainty[5]. The beauty of uncertainty is that it can remind us that silence is a space for possibilities, and exploring a vast range of possibilities before making decisions at work can be cost-effective. Here are five practices that will help you lead your team effectively and inclusively:

Mind the translation delay in multicultural teams. Extroverts and native speakers can easily take over meetings. Inducing explicit pauses and moments of silence has multiple benefits, such as allowing foreign voices to engage more. A pocket of silence between turns in conversation can help people find the right words.

Say yes to more 'alone together' time. Include 'alone together' tasks during meetings, not just solo tasks before or after meetings. Jeff Bezos has standardized curated reading time for memos during meetings at Amazon[6]. This is an example of a practice that gives everyone time to go inward and reflect before speaking. Another alternative could be to offer two or three reflective questions for colleagues to journal, and to give everyone a chance to debrief in dyads or triads before plenary discussions. Balancing the time spent speaking, reading, writing, listening, and reflecting when facilitating meetings supports clarity and a sense of inclusion among all parties.

Writing as quiet listening. It can be worth starting a meeting by writing down your ideas and perspectives, or, as mentioned above, scheduling time during the meetings to write. For instance, are you struggling to listen to someone whose perspective is radically different from yours? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the dominant voices in a meeting, and it proves hard to discern what feels true and aligned with your own perspectives and values? Notice your impulse to interrupt yourself or others, and write down what is being said, and what has remained unsaid in the meeting. Journaling helps us listen to ourselves and others.

Micro-Mindfulness is the queen. What do I need right now to feel more present in this meeting? This is a question I often return to when feeling distressed. Even if it feels tempting to stand up and run away when a meeting becomes uncomfortable, or we feel unheard, it could be wiser to turn our attention inward and ground ourselves in the present moment with compassion. Such practices can be as simple as minding how you sit in a chair, redirecting your awareness to your breath, or taking slow sips of water, tea, or coffee to ground yourself in the moment. While you could practice micro-mindfulness by yourself during meetings, shared practices, even if short, can have a significant impact at work [7]. Suggest that your team do a brief meditation practice before a meeting starts, or agree to introduce one mid-way if meetings are running behind schedule. Remain curious about what you notice where these individual or group practices are in place.

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Intentionality. How many meetings have you attended that lack a shared goal between attendees or give you a feeling of an aftermath, a hidden agenda you were not informed about? Ideally, meetings would start and end, calibrating a shared sense of intention that aligns with personal and corporate values. The four practices mentioned above can come to nothing unless you are aware of the individual and collective intentions that align or collide, and avoid the urge to conclude that disruptions are negative or to make those who dare to call out a bias difficult. Fred Koffman, in his masterpiece, The Meaning Revolution [8], reminds us that teams thrive when there are shared intentions connected with specific values.

The craft is in the balance. Both too much talk and too much quietness come at an emotional and ethical cost. Transformational and compassionate teams do not fall into the misbelief that most meetings are effective ad hoc—they expect bias and groupthink as a standard and prepare strategically to circumvent it with, among other tools, more intentional uses of silence. Challenge yourself to observe the patterns of what is said, what is unsaid, and what happens in between, and favor needed creative disruptions, one intentional pocket of silence at a time.

[1]Criscuolo, P., Dahlander, L. T., Grohsjean, T., & Salter, A. (2016). Evaluating Novelty: The Role of Panels in the Selection of R&D Projects. Academy of Management Journal, 60(2), https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2014.0861

[2] Groupthink (n.d.). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/groupthink#why-groupthink-hap…

[3]Hewlett, S.A., Marshall, M., Sherbin, L. (2013). How Diversity Can Drive Innovation. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-diversity-can-drive-innovation

[4]Morse, G. (2016). Designing a Bias-Free Organization. It’s easier to change your processes than your people. Retrieved by

https://hbr.org/2016/07/designing-a-bias-free-organization?utm_medium=s…

[5] Lehmann, O.V. (2022). Silence. In: The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98390-5_225-1

[6] Fridman, J. (2023, December 14). Jeff Bezos: Amazon and Blue Origin | Lex Fridman Podcast #405. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcWqzZ3I2cY&t=2s

[7] Zucker, R. (2024). Don’t Underestimate the Power of Small Breaks During a Busy Workday. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2024/03/dont-underestimate-the-power-of-small-breaks-du…

[8]Kofman, F. (2018).The meaning revolution: The power of transcendent leadership. Crown Currency.

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