Communication blockers – Passivity

There are several things that may cause a disruption during our team meetings. We can call them “communication blockers” and they may attack in doles which makes them more powerful and disruptive. The most common are:

Not being there
Dishonesty
Passivity
Being “over”

When I'm being seen as passive?

  •  You may be seen as passive when you don’t speak or react at all. – In general, regardless of what is causing your disengagement or silence.
  • You may be seen as passive-aggressive, or negative when you discount other people’s ideas without giving back anything from yourself.

One may act passive for many reasons:

  • They may not have the courage to speak up, or they may feel it’s “not in their nature” to be in the spotlight.
  • They may feel “worst” than the people around them – “I’m not the expert I’m not sure if my answer is right” – which is the most common case.
  • There may be a lack of trust in the team – “I don’t want to make full of myself”.
  • They may not feel self-responsible – “there are so many people around me, someone else will react surely” – this may be a sign of personal disengagement.
  • They may just don’t want to take part in whatever is happening but they don’t feel comfortable with saying “no” – which often is another sign of lack of trust.
  • They may be too busy to react or involve, so they pretend not to notice the message

Being passive does not make anyone a bad person, it has its drawbacks, so it’s worth considering if this is a good idea for us.
When you don’t speak up:

  • You’re not building your PR at work – which means you won’t be seen as “fully participating” in the team activities.
  • No one can see (or nowadays hear) how smart and valuable a person you are.
  • Your voice is not heard, so you may feel omitted or not part of the team.
  •  If you withdraw from stating your opinion in effect, you may be forced to realize someone else’s plans.That may make you feel not empowered at work and you may lose your internal motivation or the feeling of achievement,
  • Whoever asked the question – your lack of answer will be taken as a confirmation of their opinion, even if it’s not what you agree with.
  • If a person is being silent in the meetings one is more often seen as not engaged even if one is working harder than others on realizing the agreement later on.