21/05/2026
Something happens to the quality of information that reaches you as you rise.
It doesn't stop flowing. If anything, there's more of it — more briefings, more updates, more carefully prepared summaries. But somewhere in the ascent, the unfiltered version quietly disappears.
I've sat with many senior leaders over the years. And one of the most common things I hear — usually said quietly, almost as an aside — is some version of this:
"I'm not sure people tell me what they actually think anymore."
They say it with more resignation than alarm, which is, perhaps, the most concerning part.
The silence at the top is not a failure of culture. It's not a reflection of the leader's character. It's a structural feature of hierarchy — predictable, gradual, and almost invisible until it isn't.
The leaders who navigate it well are not those who demand more honesty. They're the ones who get curious about what role they might have played in creating the conditions for honesty — or closing them off.
What part of this resonates with you? Or what doesn't?
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/silence-top-why-room-gets-quieter-you-rise-rohaizan-sallehudin-mcc-jb6gc/