A common misconception is that silence equates to agreement. Another is, if people don’t speak up, they must have nothing to say. You can feel it in a meeting within a couple of minutes. In some rooms people lean in, talk freely, challenge ideas respectfully, imagine liberally, disagree safely and the conversation and outcomes get better for it. In others, the leader does the talking, participants remain disengaged and quiet, insights, suggestions, questions, all remain uns