Silent Scream: When You See the Company’s Problems but Can’t Get Through

You know exactly what's going wrong at your company, but somehow the men at the top have developed a remarkable immunity to hearing you. Sound familiar? Welcome to the corporate twilight zone where women leaders can see the train coming but can't get anyone to move off the tracks.

I've coached dozens of brilliant women execs who could practically write the post-mortem on their failing startups BEFORE the crash. They're watching in real-time as inflated projections miss targets, as product decisions get dictated by ego rather than market reality, and as the burn rate climbs while the board gets restless.

And yet? When they speak up, they're either politely nodded at and ignored, or worse, labeled as "not being a team player." The corporate gaslighting is real, folks.

One CXO I work with saw her company's product strategy was fundamentally flawed. The chief product officer was, in her words, "entirely ego-driven" and "couldn't get out of his own way." She told the CEO repeatedly. Result? Her team got cut in the inevitable layoffs while the actual problem remained untouched.

The pattern is so predictable it's almost boring: Woman raises alarm → Man in charge dismisses concerns → Company hits wall → Everyone acts surprised → Woman gets laid off in restructuring → Rinse and repeat.

This isn't just frustrating. It's economically stupid. Companies are literally paying for expertise they refuse to use.

If you're nodding so hard your neck hurts, know this: The problem isn't your communication style, your role, or your persuasiveness. The problem is a system that values confidence over competence and ego over evidence.

Your options aren't just "scream louder" or "give up." There's a third path that involves harnessing what I call your "primal power" – that deep knowing that exists beneath the frustration.

Because here's the uncomfortable truth: Your next company might have the same dysfunction unless you shift how you engage with it.

So tell me – are you silently screaming in your organization right now?