Voices

As an employee, when you lose your voice - you quit As an employee, when you choose to lose your voice - you become a manager. True for most people.True for most orgs. Funny how quickly we learnt to never scream up, but love screaming down.

Voice in a conversation: "Here's what I think" Voice in a debate: "Here's what I believe" Voice in a 1:1: "Here's what I'm afraid to say" Voice in a town hall: carefully calculated courage Voice in a strategy meeting: muted behind metrics Voice in a group chat: edited six times before sending Voice in a feedback form: anonymous, but still scared

Voice with ego is noise Voice with purpose is power Voice with data is influence Voice with fear is hesitation Voice with grief is honesty Voice with trauma is delay Voice with pressure is compliance Voice with ambition is theater Voice with resentment is sarcasm Voice with hope is naïve Voice with burnout is brittle Voice with feedback forms is filtered Voice with politics is polished Voice with leadership decks is pre-approved Voice with disillusionment is echo Voice with strategy is censorship Voice with a mortgage is mute Voice with loyalty is silence

You start with a voice that wants to change things. Then a voice that tries to. Then a voice that pretends to. Then no voice at all. You lower your tone to fit the room. You shrink your pitch to fit the deck. You rehearse your truth to avoid sounding "too much"

Many voices inside every org, and yet we hear so little: One voice that dominates - and makes everyone else quieter One voice that numbs you - with words that sound kind but mean nothing One voice that shuts you down One voice that stays forever And one voice - That simply… shut itself.. buried under "what's the point?"

Ask yourself: How many voices does your company really have? And how many of them are still alive?

For me A voice is not just sound. It's the final proof that a mind still believes it matters. Question is: Does it to you too?