Ghost Leadership: The Behavior Killing Trust, Engagement, and Performance

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The Epidemic of Ghost Leadership

Leadership isn’t just about basking in the spotlight when times are good—it’s about showing up when things are going sideways. But too often, when the pressure mounts, leaders vanish. Everyone knows something isn’t right. They’re looking for direction and a vision to rally behind. But instead, they get no guidance. No one is addressing the “elephant in the room.” Just eerie silence about the trouble everyone sees clearly.

Welcome to the epidemic of ghost leadership—a leadership behavior characterized by presence in prosperity but absence in adversity.

Why Do Leaders Ghost?

Ghost leadership may not be intentional, but it doesn’t happen by accident either. It would be easy to blame a leader and assume their behavior is intentional. But the reasons are often more nuanced and complicated.

Fear of Saying the Wrong Thing
Many leaders believe that silence is safer than saying something wrong. They don’t like to talk about bad news. It doesn’t feel good and is not as fun as talking about good times. They worry that a misstep, an errant phrase, an attempt at levity that falls flat, or… anything will create legal, financial, or reputational damage, so they opt for vague corporate speak—or complete silence. The irony? Employees don’t expect leaders to have all the answers; they expect honesty and direction. The cost of silence is far greater than the imagined cost of an unintentional goof or slip-up.

Self-Preservation Over Leadership
When the ship starts taking on water, some leaders prioritize protecting their own careers over leading their teams. They focus on managing optics, the Board, or the stock price instead of addressing reality, hoping to avoid personal fallout (aka “CYA”). This defensive approach only fuels more instability. Leaders put personal consequences and concerns way below doing the right thing for their people.

They’re Overwhelmed and Unprepared
Not every leader is built for crisis leadership. Some freeze under pressure because they lack the training, resilience, or experience to navigate high-stakes situations. Some just don’t have what it takes to lead through difficulty. Leadership in good times is easy. Leadership in crises? That’s the real test and where actual leaders are forged.

They Assume Employees Will ‘Figure It Out’
Some leaders mistakenly believe that no news is better than bad news, assuming people will “keep calm and carry on” without needing reassurance. Some ghost leaders even think less of people who need communication and transparency. Wild, right? In reality, silence fuels paranoia, disengagement, and worst-case-scenario thinking.

They’re Getting Bad Advice
HR and legal teams often tell leaders to say nothing until every detail is known. While risk mitigation is important, this approach ignores the human side of leadership: people need guidance, even if it’s just an acknowledgment of uncertainty and showing some vulnerability.

Where Did the Leaders Go?

You’ve seen it before. The company hits a rough patch—layoffs, financial downturns, public scrutiny—and the people in charge suddenly become elusive. Employees ask tough questions, but their emails go unanswered. Town halls remain “business-as-usual” with vague, elusive, or rehearsed statements instead of real talk from executives. The message is loud and clear: We know you know something’s not right, but we’ve decided talking to you about it isn’t needed—you’re on your own.

Contrast this with leaders who lean into the storm. In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek argues that trust is built when leaders stand with their people in tough times, not when they vanish into conference rooms. Jocko Willink, in Extreme Ownership, makes it even simpler: Own everything in your world, especially the problems.

Ghost Leadership vs. Real Leadership in Action

We don’t have to look far for real-world examples. In 2020, when the airline industry collapsed because of the pandemic, Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, didn’t just fire off a pre-scripted, heavily edited, and sanitized memo—he took a 100% salary cut, communicated constantly with employees, and led from the front. Delta was stronger because of his visible leadership.

Flip the script and compare that to the silence from Boeing’s leadership during the 737 MAX crisis. For months, executives avoided addressing directly growing safety cultural concerns, letting speculation and fear fill the void. In the absence of information, it turns out humans are really good at filling in the blanks, and it's never with a positive view or benefit of the doubt. We’re masters of the worst-case scenario.

The damage to trust was catastrophic—not just for customers but for employees who felt abandoned.

The Cost of Ghosting

When leaders disappear in a crisis, the fallout is predictable:

• Trust evaporates. People respect leaders who stand with them, not those who go AWOL.

• Disengagement spikes. If employees feel like leadership doesn’t care, they stop caring, too.

• Attrition skyrockets. The best people don’t stick around in uncertainty and silence.

And here’s the kicker: Leaders often think they’re protecting themselves and the company by hiding or being elusive. In reality, they’re just accelerating their own irrelevance, killing trust, engagement, and performance.

How to Avoid Becoming a Ghost Leader

If you’re in a leadership role, here’s how to make sure you don’t fade into the shadows like Casper when things get tough:

Overcommunicate
Silence breeds fear and speculation. Even if you don’t have all the answers, be more visible than normal. Say, “Here’s what we know, and here’s what we don’t.” Employees don’t expect perfection—they expect honesty and transparency.

Take Ownership—Publicly
If there’s a problem, own it. Blame games erode trust. Jocko Willink puts it best: It’s always your fault. That level of accountability earns loyalty.

Be Physically (Or Virtually) Present
During crises, leaders need to show up. Walk the floor, jump into all-hands meetings, host AMAs (ask-me-anythings), and be available for hard conversations and difficult, direct questions from angry or concerned employees. The best leaders make themselves more available and accessible during tough times, not less.

Final Thought

Ghost leadership is the total opposite of leadership—it’s a complete leadership failure.

Being the leader who steps into the gap during the most challenging times shows your mettle. The byproduct is that you build a high-performing, engaged, and loyal team that TRUSTS you.

You need to be the kind of leader who steps forward when stepping forward is the hardest thing to do.

Don't be a ghost.
Leaders run toward chaos.
Be visible.
Be present.
Be vulnerable.
Be HUMAN.

Go get ‘em! 🚀

—Brenden

PS—Here’s a bonus from Jocko. Take 2:20 and watch it now.

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