Most teams have topics they avoid. Sometimes those topics are about strategy or performance. Often, they are about people.
In many workplaces, LGBT employees and others who sit outside the perceived “norm” quickly learn what is safe to say and what is better left unsaid. Not because anyone explicitly tells them to stay quiet, but because they pay attention to reactions (or the absence thereof), jokes, and consequences. Over time, silence becomes a form of self-protection.
You can see the impact. Meetings stay polite and efficient, but contributions are filtered. People participate, but selectively. The conversation remains technically sound, while important parts of lived experience never enter the room.
When honest conversation is unsafe, people adapt
They adapt by editing themselves. By downplaying who they are. By deciding whether mentioning a partner, a family, or even a weekend plan is worth the potential friction. That constant calculation costs energy, reduces engagement, and quietly undermines trust.
This is not a separate “diversity issue”. It is a performance issue created by silence.
Creating space for honest conversation is not about oversharing or forcing disclosure. It is about removing the penalty for truth. When people no longer have to manage their identity alongside their workload, teams think more clearly and work better together.
A few questions make this visible very quickly:
- Who feels able to speak freely here, and who doesn’t?
- What topics require people to self-censor in order to belong?
- What would improve our work if it could be said out loud?
If this feels uncomfortably familiar, please don’t hesitate to contact me or schedule a free discovery call. I work with leaders and teams who are serious about trust, inclusion, and performance — and willing to have the conversations that make those things possible.
