Silent leadership: what is it, and characteristics when managing teams?

Let's see what characterizes silent leadership in companies and organizations.

Leadership is a highly valued skill in certain sectors. However, this quality can take different forms.

One of them is known as silent leadership.. In the following lines we will try to deepen in this concept to know what makes it different from the rest of forms of leadership, what positive characteristics it possesses in comparison with these and what is its usefulness for different positions.

What does silent leadership consist of?

In order to know everything about silent leadership, it is important to have a foundation about what leadership is. It is about a skill, or rather a set of skills, related to the ability to manage or direct other people, influencing their thoughts and behaviors..

The leader is capable of generating enthusiasm and coordinating the efforts of a team towards a common goal, under his instructions. But not only that, a good leader must know when and how to delegate some of his functions, involving the other members of the group. Motivating others is another of his fundamental traits. Another way of defining this profile would be to have the ability to socially influence others, convincing them to collaborate in a common project..

Leadership has to do with a series of traits of the person, among which are intelligence and charisma. It is a skill that is in demand and almost demanded in some areas, since a leader is much more than a boss. The boss may simply give orders, while the leader sets an example, motivates, involves the others and turns them into a real team.

Characteristics of this type of leader

There are many classifications of leader types. Without describing them, we should know that one of these types is precisely silent leadership. Traditionally, when thinking of a leader, we have tended to fall into the stereotype of a person brimming with energy, very charismatic, who quickly grabs the spotlight with his overwhelming personality, with which he gets everyone to follow him.

However, this is not the only leader profile that exists, nor is it necessarily the most effective. In contrast, there is silent leadership, which makes use of other different traits to achieve the same objective, but from an alternative path.. These features may, perhaps, go unnoticed at first glance, but they are of vital importance for your work.

We will now review some of the most outstanding ones, although they are not the only ones we can find.

1. Active listening

People who stand out in this field have skills such as a great ability to listen, because in order to lead it is important to know how to transmit the message, but it is also important to know how to receive it. a group of people who feel listened to and understood by their leader will certainly tend to be more motivated..

Active listening also allows the leader to have all the information about what is happening in the work environment and more specifically in his team. In this way, he can anticipate possible problems that may arise, solving them at an early stage or even before they hatch.

Therefore, active listening, as opposed to verbosity or even lip service, is a characteristic of silent leadership, placing more weight on the information that can be received as opposed to that which can be emitted.

This does not mean that this type of leader does not speak or try to communicate, because obviously he also does it, but in a simpler and more pragmatic way, as it characterizes him and as we will see in other characteristics.

2. Humility

Humility is another of the fundamental traits of silent leadership. In the stereotypical leader we mentioned earlier, some of the hallmarks of this profile were the prominence, the striking personality, and in some cases even narcissism and the taste for being the center of attention and the figure that everyone wants to follow.

On the contrary, the silent leader does not fit this description, but rather he generates his leadership from a much more humble position, becoming part of the group and even diluting himself among the team members, ceding the limelight to them while he remains discreetly in the background. and even diluting himself among the team members, ceding the limelight to them while he remains in the background.

This humility and preference for simplicity are maintained even when his good work leads the group to achieve its objectives and others want to recognize this work. He will prefer that the members of his team are the ones who enjoy and enjoy this recognition.

3. Empathy

Silent leadership has more characteristics. One of them is empathy. We have already anticipated that this type of leader prefers to listen rather than speak, but behind this listening lies another quality, which allows him to put himself in his neighbor's shoes and try to feel what he is feeling, for a maximum understanding of the message he is conveying..

This deep understanding of the feelings of others, in this case the members of his team, allows him to know at all times what state they are in and to act accordingly to ensure that the people working under his command have the maximum well-being, knowing that their leader will be there when they need him.

Empathy humanizes the leader and makes others perceive him/her at the same level, not from a hierarchical perspective but from the perspective of companionship. This closeness and warmth results in an increase in motivation for all of them, because they know that their leader understands them and is at their side..

4. Pragmatism

The person who excels in silent leadership is also characterized by pragmatism. This means that he/she tries to carry out simple behaviors, which are aimed directly at the needs of the team and the project, without having any pretensions beyond that.

This is another mark of the simplicity of this type of leader, who does not need the prominence we were talking about earlier and therefore does not see the usefulness of extravagant or dramatic behavior. What they do, they do because it leads them to the end they are pursuing in a direct way, or at least brings them closer to it, not for any other reason..

Such pragmatism makes the silent leader an example of effectiveness who, with the least amount of resources possible, succeeds in meeting the objectives expected of him.

5. Calm

Quiet leadership also has distinctive traits such as calmness. These leaders have the ability to remain calm even under high-pressure conditions, remaining stoic and transmitting this state to their subordinates, who will work with the confidence they need to be calm and confident.They will work with the confidence that their leader transmits to them.

From calmness, the leader will be able to make more objective decisions, without falling into impulsiveness, and therefore running less risk of making mistakes by rushing into an option that perhaps was not the best, due to the pressure.

This tranquility is a trait especially valued in sectors where stress and haste reign, as it is a pillar where all members of the group can rely on to have a stability that is not abundant.

6. Reflexivity

Together with calmness, appears the reflexivity, another of the characteristics that are included in the silent leadership. And the fact is that it is not enough not to succumb to panic and stress, but it is necessary to know how to reflect in an adequate way during this time in order to be able to reach the conclusion of what is best for the company. to be able to come to the conclusion of what is the smartest step to take.

A silent leader is silent precisely because he must be reflective. This ability to evaluate the alternatives and know which one to choose is one of the skills of this profile. In addition, their decisions will be pragmatic, as we have already seen. Therefore, this type of leader will meditate on the steps that both he and his team will take, choosing wisely and prudently.

Summary

It is interesting to analyze the interconnection between all these skills. Some of them have been mentioned explicitly, but the truth is that there are many other relationships, such as the one between active listening, reflection and empathy.

The sum of all these qualities, and others that have been left out of this list but are equally important, is what gives value to silent leadership.

Bibliographical references:

• Castro Solano, A. (2006). Implicit theories of leadership, context, and leadership ability. Annals of psychology.
• Chang, T., Chou, S.Y., Han, B. (2018). Silent leaders in the workplace: Forms of leadership silence, attributions of leadership silence, and accuracy of attributions. International Journal of Business Communication.
• Gardner, H. (1998). Leading minds: an anatomy of leadership. Paidós.
• Robinson, V.M.J., Lloyd, C.A., Rowe, K.J. (2014). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. REICE. Ibero-American Electronic Journal on Quality, Effectiveness and Change in Education.