Should I post. Should I not.
Should I post. Should I not.
If you know that feeling, you know all of it. The writing and the deleting. The rewriting. The moment your finger hovers and you close the app instead. The version that nearly made it out into the world and didn't.
I did that for a long time. The battle was real.
And then one day I clicked POST.
From "eyes on me" to something else
For a while, putting myself out there felt very uncomfortable. The thought of being judged or found lacking, was enough to make sit with a single post for hours.
What changed wasn't confidence. It was perspective.
I spoke with someone who was on a similar path a few years before and she said something that helped me to stop thinking about who might be watching and started thinking about why I needed to show up. No one else can share what I'm developing, the musings in my head, the things I'm still working through. Only I can do that. If I don't, those ideas stay invisible too.
Now I post to get my thoughts out there and trust that the right people will find them.
I'm telling you this because I know I'm not the only one who has felt this way. I speak with leaders who are hesitant to put an opinion out in case it's 'wrong'. Who won't share how they're feeling in case it looks like weakness. Who won't recommend someone or an initiative in case it reflects badly on them.
So they say nothing. And something that could have mattered to someone doesn't.
The silence on the other side
There's something people don't talk about enough.
You post something honest. Something that took courage to put out there. And you hear nothing.
That silence doesn't mean it didn't land. People may not comment because commenting exposes them too. To have a reaction to something, to say so publicly, to align yourself with a perspective, that feels risky as well.
But here is what we lose.
When someone posts something genuine and you feel it, your comment wouldn't just uplift them. It would signal that their vulnerability was met. It would open a conversation that otherwise wouldn't happen. Between two people who were both thinking the same thing and neither said so.
That is what genuine engagement looks like. Not "great post." Not a message that could have been sent to anyone. A comment that says what you actually thought. Something only you could have said.
LinkedIn is noisy. That kind of response is rare. And people remember it. If you're looking for work, don't just write a comment because you want a job the person has advertised, post for real connection because they'll read it. AND Algorithm's love it.
The leadership version of this
Most leaders think engaging personally with their team is optional. Nice to have. Something that blurs the professional line.
It's not optional. It is the job.
When you ask about the thing someone mentioned three weeks ago, when you remember what their child is studying, when you engage with what actually matters to them, you are doing something most leaders don't. You're telling someone they're worth paying attention to.
People remember who noticed them. They remember who didn't.
Keeping a professional distance and wondering why trust never builds is not professionalism. It is avoidance with a better name.
Leadership Reflection Journal
In which situations do you notice yourself presenting a more managed version of who you are? What are you protecting yourself from?
Think about the last time you felt genuinely seen by someone at work. What did they do that created that?
When you engage with people online or in person, how often is it driven by genuine curiosity rather than habit or obligation?
Is there someone on your team whose life outside work you know almost nothing about? What has stopped you from asking?
What is one small act of genuine visibility you could take today? Not tomorrow. Today.
I still don't always know if something I post lands. People don't always say. But I've learned that the right people find it. And sometimes, weeks later, someone tells me it changed something for them.
That is enough.
I would genuinely love to hear what comes up for you when you sit with this.
With you,
Linda
Founder of Touching Distance
