258. When Power Talks, People Walk: Why Leaders Don’t Hear What Matters Most

Conversational habits and their impact on workplace dynamics are explored, focusing on how these habits affect ethical conduct, innovation, and engagement. Megan Reitz introduces the T.R.U.T.H. framework—Trust, Risk, Understanding, Titles/Labels, and How-to—as factors influencing speaking up and listening. The discussion highlights "advantage blindness," where individuals with high-status labels overestimate others' comfort in speaking up. Reitz identifies traps that leaders fall into, including being more intimidating than they realize, creating echo chambers, and sending "shut up signals." The importance of mindfulness in changing habits and training attention to create space for choosing responses rather than reacting on autopilot is emphasized.