The power of silence

Why good leadership begins more quietly than many think

Dear readers,

It is early in the morning at the Executive Retreat (Vorstandsklausur) in the Münsterschwarzach Abbey. Although the day has already begun, something is missing that has become a constant in our everyday lives, especially in leadership roles. No messages are being received, no conversations are taking place and topics that would normally call for clarification or decision-making are deliberately set aside.

Instead, a calm emerges that may seems unremarkable at first, yet unfolds its impact precisely through its simplicity. It creates something that often no longer has a place in everyday life, namely a space in which nothing is required except to encounter oneself. That is the core of our first Executive Retreat (Vorstandsklausur), which I held together with Prof. Leonhard Zintl (Chairman of Volksbank Mittweida) in March and which I consciously understand as a "retreat with oneself".

Pic. 1: Prof. Dr. Daniel Keller & Prof. Leonhard Zintl (Abbey Münsterschwarzach, March 2026)

For a few days, a setting was created in which executives, guided by the rhythm of the monastery, beyond operational pressure and with reduced use of technology, were able to reorient themselves. For many, it was an unfamiliar environment that was geared towards reflection rather than reaction.

During these days, there were no new methods or additional content at the center. What mattered was a fundamental engagement with one's own personality, patterns and experiences that shape one's actions. This form of self-reflection is not always comfortable, but it is necessary. It leads to something that is essential for effective leadership: clarity.

Clarity emerges from distance

Through my theology studies and my time in Rome, I have learned about the power held within monastic spaces. They are not merely a withdrawal from the world, but an opportunity to engage with it more clearly.

To this day, I regularly take time to go to a monastery myself, often for a week or longer. I don't do this to escape from everyday life, but to regain access to what is easily drowned out by it. It gives me time to think, to put my own life in order and to pause for a moment. This is the experience I bring to the executive retreat and pass on to the participants.

A recurring pattern emerges in my work. The pace is constantly increasing, the density of information is rising and at the same time the space for deeper thoughts is shrinking. As a result, leadership increasingly happens in reaction mode. Topics follow one another, decisions are made under time pressure and even the briefest transitions between meetings are immediately filled again.

The problem is rarely a lack of knowledge. Much more often, it is an overload of information, indeed, data noise. What is missing is the opportunity to process this information and place it into a clear context. This is exactly where the executive retreat comes in. The days in the monastery are shaped by structure, reflection, and intentionally placed interruptions. A central component is silence, not as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite for thoughts to develop before they are evaluated.

Benedictine Father Anselm Grün, who was present as speaker and impulse-giver, puts it aptly:

"Many people look for answers outside themselves and fail to hear their own inner voice. Only in silence does the space emerge in which we one again recognize what is truly essential."

Pic. 2: Prof. Dr. Daniel Keller & Father Anselm Grün OSB (March 2026)

In organizations, complexity is often described as something external. However, my experience shows that the decisive ambiguity often arises in one´s own thinking. Those who remain constant reaction mode make decisions under pressure and with little distance. As a result, the urgent overshadows the important and contexts are not fully understood.

Conscious interruptions leave an impact

A key insight from this three-day "journey" was and is that radical changes are not necessary to carry the qualities experienced in the monastery into everyday life. Small, intentional interruptions are often enough. This may be a moment of pausing before making a decision or a clear transition between two topics. Even the conscious choice not to immediately fill a break can make a significant difference.

These seemingly small changes have a greater impact than one might initially expect. They do not reduce the amount of work, but they improve the quality with which it is done. Over time, something emerges that I would describe as an inner space. You don't have to act immediately in this space. Thoughts can develop before they are translated into decisions.

I have frequently observed that the most effective leaders are not the fastest. What matters is clarity, followed by execution. Or to put it differently:

"The real problem of modern leadership is not the complexity of the world, but the lack of distance to one's own thinking. Those who do not consciously create this distance confuse reaction with decision."

The space of silence and the silence within it are often misunderstood, because silence is neither withdrawal nor passivity. In my experience, it is an active contribution to one's own effectiveness. Especially in a world characterized by speed and constant communication, silence becomes a crucial prerequisite for clarity and sustainable decisions. And perhaps this is precisely its greatest strength: by enabling us to listen inward, silence creates the foundation for courageous and thoughtful action. And thus: for becoming self-effective.

Yours, Daniel Keller

Image source: Photo by Abbey Münsterschwarzach