When ‘we’ll wait and see’ becomes a reputational risk

“We’ll wait and see” often sounds sensible. In moments of uncertainty, economic pressure, operational change, emerging issues, it can feel like the responsible option. Gather more information. Avoid saying the wrong thing. Don’t rush. But in communications terms, delay isn’t neutral. It’s active. And increasingly, it carries risk.

Silence doesn’t pause perception

Reputation isn’t built only on what organisations say. It’s shaped just as much by what they don’t. 

When businesses go quiet during moments of uncertainty, audiences don’t assume nothing is happening. They assume something is being withheld. Employees speculate. Customers fill gaps. Stakeholders draw their own conclusions. 

In the absence of clarity, people default to interpretation and interpretation rarely works in your favour. 

Why ‘waiting’ feels safer than it is 

From a leadership perspective, hesitation often comes from the right place. There’s a fear of being inaccurate. Of committing too early. Of being held to something that may change. But what gets missed is that reassurance doesn’t require certainty. 

Most audiences aren’t expecting definitive answers in complex situations. They’re looking for acknowledgement, direction and intent. Silence, on the other hand, feels like avoidance, even when it isn’t. 

We saw the opposite approach work well during the pandemic. NHS Trusts that communicated early and consistently, even when information was evolving, maintained higher levels of public trust.  Updates didn’t always come with definitive answers, but they acknowledged uncertainty, explained intent and stayed visible. That presence reassured people far more effectively than silence ever could. The longer the pause, the harder it becomes to re-enter the conversation with credibility intact. 

The trust erosion effect 

Trust is built through consistency and presence. When communication stops at precisely the moment confidence is needed most, trust weakens quietly. This is particularly damaging internally. Employees notice when leadership communication slows or disappears. Without context, confidence drops. Alignment unravels and rumour fills the gap. 

Externally, delayed communication can create distance. Clients question priorities. Partners wonder where they stand. Regulators and media assume caution has a cause. None of this requires bad intent. It happens simply because nothing was said. 

What boards often underestimate 

At board level, communication delay is often framed as risk management. In reality, it’s risk deferral and deferral rarely reduces exposure. 

The reputational cost of silence doesn’t arrive all at once. It accumulates. You can see it as reduced goodwill, slower recovery, harder conversations and diminished benefit of the doubt. When organisations finally speak, they’re no longer starting from a position of trust. They’re responding from behind it. 

What effective organisations do differently 

Strong communicators understand that presence matters more than perfection. They communicate early, even if all the answers aren’t ready. They explain what’s known, what isn’t and when more information will follow. They stay visible, consistent and human. This doesn’t mean over-communicating or speculating. It means recognising that showing up is part of leadership. 

Silence is still a decision 

Choosing not to communicate publicly is sometimes the right call. There are moments, particularly with media, where restraint prevents speculation from escalating and attention from intensifying. Saying less can be strategic. Saying nothing can be sensible. But strategic silence is not the same as disappearance. 

The organisations that retain trust during uncertain moments understand the difference. They stay present with the audiences that matter most, even if they’re not making public statements. They acknowledge uncertainty internally, set expectations and make it clear that decisions are being considered carefully. In those moments, the risk isn’t silence itself. It’s absence. 

Because while waiting and seeing can be the right communications strategy, going quiet everywhere rarely is. And when presence disappears altogether, others step in to fill the gap, often with far less care.