The Whisper Effect
The Whisper Effect occurs when acoustic signals degrade as danger increases in hierarchical organizations under stress.
In dysfunctional human hierarchies, warnings whisper toward silence. The more critical the message, the more hedged and deferential it becomes.
In nature, when gibbons face territorial threat, their calls get louder and more insistent. When prairie dogs detect predators, alarm calls sharpen. But in dysfunctional human hierarchies, the opposite occurs - warnings from subordinates get quieter and more tentative precisely when they should get louder and more insistent. This is urgency inversion.
Business Application of The Whisper Effect
The Whisper Effect occurs when acoustic signals degrade as danger increases in hierarchical organizations under stress. On Flight 173, the First Officer's warnings got quieter as fuel ran out - the more critical the message, the more hedged it became. Diagnosing The Whisper Effect: Do junior team members hedge concerns with qualifiers? Do warnings get softer when senior leaders are present? The fix is CRM-style graded assertiveness and psychological safety where speaking up is rewarded.