When high performers go silent: what to do
Listening to what's not being said and org strategies for accountability
When a once-engaged, high-performing team member goes quiet, it’s often chalked up to disengagement. But silence isn’t just a void, it’s data. Below is what to listen for and organizational strategies to change course.
It might be the story of unmet needs.
Or chronic micro-management.
Or burnout from carrying a team without recognition.
Or the slow erosion of confidence in a system that only knows how to listen when things are loud.
Silence can also be the aftermath of:
Brilliance that went unnoticed.
Feedback that never came.
Ideas that were dismissed.
A culture that subtly penalized dissent, critique, or difference.
Yet, too often, when performance dips or enthusiasm wanes, we rush to ask:
“What’s wrong with them?”
But that’s the wrong question.
We need to ask:
➕ What has the system failed to notice?
➕ Are they experiencing microaggressions, bias, or subtle exclusion?
➕ Has their psychological safety or agency been slowly chipped away?
➕ Did we build a culture that only celebrates loud confidence and overlooks quiet brilliance?
Disengagement isn’t just an individual problem—it’s often the final chapter in a long story of missed signals and leadership breakdowns.
High performers don’t just check out overnight. They stop speaking up because speaking up didn’t work.
They stop showing initiative because initiative has become a punishment.
They pull back because trust was fractured over time, and no one noticed until it showed up in metrics.
If we want to build equitable, inclusive, and high-performing workplaces, we have to get better at listening to what isn’t being said.
Silence is communication.
Disengagement is feedback.
A quiet high performer is a signal, not a problem.
Reflection Prompt:
What are some ways you’ve learned to spot disengagement early? How do you make space for what isn’t being said on your teams?
Strategies for organizational accountablity
Silence from a high-performing employee is rarely sudden. It’s the echo of accumulated missteps, unmet needs, or invisible harm. But in most organizations, the focus is on “fixing” the individual, without interrogating the system.
Here’s how to change that.
Step 1: Shift the question from “What’s wrong with them?” to “What’s happening around them?”
When an engaged contributor goes quiet:
Don’t rush to performance improvement plans.
Pause and assess what conditions may have led to this moment:
Have they been over-relied on without recognition?
Are they regularly interrupted, dismissed, or undermined?
Has feedback been inconsistent, biased, or absent?
Have their ideas been co-opted or ignored?
Organizational accountability means investigating how the system contributed, not blaming the person.
Step 2: Conduct a listening session, not a performance review
Create a low-stakes, high-safety space to check in. Avoid formal settings that feel evaluative.
Ask:
“How have you been experiencing the team lately?”
“Is there anything you've needed that hasn't been present?”
“What feedback or support have you been missing?”
“What do you wish leadership understood?”
And listen without defensiveness. High performers often test psychological safety before they speak freely.
Step 3: Look for systemic red flags
Silence is often a symptom. Track patterns:
Are BIPOC, women, neurodivergent, or disabled employees going quiet more often?
Is silence happening after reorgs, leadership changes, or new management?
Are there patterns in who is being “managed out”?
Use this data to hold leadership accountable for creating conditions for engagement, not just outcomes.
Step 4: Restore trust, don’t just re-engage
You can’t incentivize people back into safety—they need to see change.
Start with:
Clear acknowledgment of what’s been missed or mishandled
A plan to repair broken feedback loops
Reallocation of responsibilities if burnout has taken hold
Public credit for contributions and ideas
Trust is built with action, not words.
Step 5: Build structural support to prevent the next silence
Implement bias-mitigated performance reviews
Require feedback training for all managers
Introduce pulse surveys with psychological safety questions
Create anonymous reporting channels for microaggressions and silencing behaviors
Develop mentorship or advocacy roles for employees who carry invisible labor
Make listening, adjusting, and accountability part of your operational rhythm, not just crisis response.
Final thought
When a high performer stops talking, don’t assume the story is over. It might just be the beginning of a much-needed conversation about leadership, culture, and the kind of workplace you want to build.