Staying quiet is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 keeping the peace.

Staying quiet is not keeping the peace.

Artist Patrizia Casagranda and I had a brief conversation about her work "Balloon Girl - Emprace Peace." Ever since, I keep thinking about how misleading that word "peace" really is.

Because peace isn't passive. It's the result of a hundred small acts of courage.

↳ Like staying quiet when I knew a strategy was failing because I was "too new." 

↳ Or not giving honest feedback because it felt too awkward.

↳ And nodding. Nodding when you should scream.

There is that voice in my head that whispers "Don't rock the boat" right when rocking the boat is exactly what's needed.

I see this same struggle in many leaders I work with as their coach. 

They want that peaceful feeling of doing the right thing. 

But they hesitate because doing the right thing means conflict, difficult conversations, uncomfortable choices.

I keep realizing: you can't have real peace without first having the fight. 

And trust me you fight, because:

↳ Speaking up gets you labeled "difficult". 

↳ But staying quiet gets you labeled "not strategic". 

↳ So it feels like, there is no winning move in a game designed for you to lose.

That internal battle? That's what gets you to the other side.

Gratitude to Trium Art Gallery for this great encounter 🙏

What are you not saying?

#change #leadership #peace

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