Silent but deadly. The leadership secret no one talks about.

<h1>Speaking up earned you a seat at the table</h1> <p>You raised valid points in meetings, you stuck your head above the parapet and contributed to team culture. You spoke up on behalf of others and you got promoted.</p> <p>Congratulations, you have a seat at the table. Suddenly, people listen to you in meetings, encourage you to speak more and wait for you to voice your thoughts before they voice theirs.</p> <p>Great leadership is about recognising that &ldquo;what got you here will not get you there.&rdquo; And as a leader, you need to use your voice differently, more frequently handing the microphone to someone else.</p> <h1>Beware the HIPPO Effect</h1> <p>Jim, a junior colleague of mine, had been working for two weeks on a research project. He had all the data at his fingertips and he was itching to share the results. We got together to discuss the story in the data. The senior director entered the room, yet to view 90% of the data he&rsquo;d collected. &ldquo;Well&rdquo;, she said. &ldquo;I think the story we want to tell is pretty clear&rdquo; and proceeded to write her points on the whiteboard. Jim was deflated. What was the point of sharing his data and the patterns he&rsquo;d observed? He sat in silence for the entire meeting. That day, I learned a valuable lesson in how&nbsp;<strong>not</strong>&nbsp;to be a leader.</p> <p>How could Jim disagree with the HIPPO? That&rsquo;s the&nbsp;<strong>Highest Paid Person&rsquo;s Opinion</strong>&nbsp;. These lumbering creatures shift the balance of power and crush every idea in their path. When you behave like a hippo, you surround yourself with nodding dogs: bred to follow but not to table ideas.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/read-the-room/silent-but-deadly-the-leadership-secret-no-one-talks-about-8f7f825f4a3"><strong>Click Here</strong></a></p>