Are run-of-the-mill leaders too loud for your liking?

The Power of Leading Without Shouting

There’s a time and place for loud and quiet leaders. But while we often are familiar with ‘loud’ leadership, what benefits does leading quietly even have? What does it mean to lead quietly?

People are all different. As such, they have different strengths and these can be fostered and grown. Not everyone in a leadership position has to be blatant and verbal about it.

As coaches, we rely more on quiet leadership than its alternatives. This week on CLCI Live, join Jen Long (PCC), Jerome LeDuff (MCPC), Lisa Finck (MCC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), and Brooke Adair Walters (ACC) as they explain why this is and why coaches can already be considered, by their nature, quiet leaders.

Breaking the Loud Leader Stereotype

Think about leadership traits. What might they be? Confidence? Experience? Charisma? Is "quiet" a trait among those thought of? Probably not! But the quiet leader is absolutely real.

A quiet leader doesn’t have to exert authority outright that often. They get their work done more subtly from the outside. Sometimes, they aren’t even viewed as a leader. Their presence can feel ‘quiet’, but the work they are doing is what is keeping a team together, or making a plan succeed.

Leadership comes in different styles. Some give orders, explain their plans, and send their team out to the positions that they as the leader chose for them. They take charge visibly and exert control. These might be our ‘loud’ leaders.

Let’s think back to those traits. Is confidence something only a loud leader can have, and show? No. Is experience? Absolutely not! Well, what about charisma? If someone is just being silent in their seat, they probably aren’t portraying much charisma, right? No again! Think about times when someone has held a silence. It can feel uneasy. We often tell ourselves that someone needs to be speaking. The pressure to fill the silence is hard to get used to. If a leader is holding a silence, and visibly comfortable in doing so, it inspires others to relax more into the thinking space. Not only are they showing contagious confidence, but it’s that very confidence and comfort in holding a silence that can be considered charismatic.

All leaders have to lead by example. Whether loud or quiet, effective leadership requires this. Quiet leaders can command respect and lead by example without having to vocally demand that respect. Quiet leaders lead by virtue of the actions they are taking, not by telling their team that they are the leader.

Effective leaders are focused on the work of their team. It’s not about themselves. It’s not about their appearance, getting praised, or being seen. The priority isn’t on getting the congratulations for whatever the team accomplishes, it’s instead on the accomplishments happening at all.

Listening With Purpose

Quiet leaders, and coaches especially, excel by creating space. That space is not empty; it's intentional. Listening with purpose means tuning in to what’s being said and what’s not being said. It involves observing patterns, tone, hesitation, and even silence.

As coaches, we are trained to hear deeper truths within our clients’ stories, to notice the tension behind the words, and to ask thoughtful, clarifying questions. This form of active listening is powerful, not because it’s loud, but because it’s deliberate. The client feels seen, heard, and understood without being interrupted or redirected.

Suggesting With Intent

Quiet leadership is not about being passive. When a quiet leader speaks, it is with purpose. In coaching, suggestions or insights are not mandates, they are invitations. A coach may reflect, offer possibilities, or gently challenge a limiting belief. These interventions are made with clarity and care, designed to support the client’s autonomy, not override it.

Being intentional with speech reinforces the client’s power. It models how leadership can be direct without being dominant, and supportive without being soft.

Being Calm in the Storm

One of the greatest advantages of quiet leadership is its capacity for calm under pressure. A quiet leader doesn’t escalate, they ground. Their presence is steadying. In a coaching session, this composure can be the difference between a client spiraling in uncertainty and finding the space to pause and reflect.

Coaches, like all great quiet leaders, practice emotional regulation. They don't let the energy of the moment dictate their responses. Instead, they remain grounded so their clients can find grounding too.

Putting the Team First

Quiet leadership is, at its core, service-oriented. It’s not about being the hero of the story, it’s about helping the team (or client) succeed. In coaching, this means putting the client’s growth and autonomy before your own ego or need to solve.

The coach’s job isn’t to look brilliant (though we often are 😉) it’s to allow the client to become and be brilliant themselves. This humility is what sets quiet leaders apart. The success of the people they support is the true measure of their effectiveness.

Fostering Client Growth

As a coach, you have to be a quiet leader. You’re leading the coaching relationship (while the client leads the coaching session). When clients ask those seemingly inevitable questions on ‘what would you do?’ or ‘what I should do?’, the coach’s job is not to actually answer, as a loud, direct leader might.

Coaches aren’t there to give their perspective on the experience the client is talking about. They’re there to be empathetic in listening, so that the client might hear themselves. They’re there to hold the silence.

Life coaching is about listening rather than giving advice. By listening and hearing, a coach can repeat back what they have heard and remind the client of what they themselves have said. Even in silence, the support of having that space can foster growth. Theirs is a more subtle presence that still steers the coaching relationship. It might be considered more passive, but that’s quiet leadership at play.

We see quiet leadership applied in coaching in that coaches are humble and curious, using their skill-set quietly so the focus is on the client and celebrating their growth, their successes, and their ability to create their own plans and pursue their own goals.

Quiet doesn’t equate to total silence. A quiet leader still has a voice. A coach does too.

Thank you,

Jen Long (PCC), Anthony Lopez (MCPC), Brooke Adair Walters (ACC), Jerome LeDuff (MCLC), and Lisa Finck (MCC)

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