Ambiguity of Silence

James Robinson • August 30, 2024

Reduce ambiguity by speaking up.

There are different shades of silence.  Some silences have an edge to them, while others are so unnoticeable that you don’t know that they’re there at all.  Regardless of what category of silence we are discussing, there’s one attribute that most forms of silence share– and that’s ambiguity, which can be detrimental. I learned this early in life and I relearn it often– even now, less than one month away from my 50th birthday. 


As an introverted leader, silence has become my most loyal partner– along with countless books, classes, small teams, walks, journals, and data. While silence helps me process thoughts, listen, create  and re-energize, it also creates ambiguity if I don’t share those thoughts, takeaways and creations with people.  As a consequence of this partnership with silence,  ambiguity allows people to employ guesswork to create your narrative for you, or to make assumptions about you or your work, or to overlook you,  and all of that, in my opinion, is dangerous.


Why? 


Because the narratives and assumptions may not be true at all. Then you have to make the decision to respond and react to dispel it OR to let it go. It’s not a good use of time because it’s reactive. If you’re an introverted leader, you may be in a perpetual battle between sharing and not sharing; who to share with and who not to share with;  when to share; and how not to be awkward. 


I get it.


But in my experience, it’s just  better to share, to get your thinking out in the world, so that people know where you stand and who you are. 


It’s not that easy to do. 


It takes courage, audacity ,getting out of your comfort zone, practice and an understanding of incentives. 


Now that I’m on a school leadership hiatus and launching a Jungian Coaching Practice, I find myself driven by different questions and incentives than before.


One of those questions is simply about potential: How many solutions and ideas never get executed because an introverted leader never shared it? 


It’s a simple question that puts 100% of  the responsibility on those of us who fit the “introvert” descriptors. There’s a reason for this. Most organizations favor extroverted leaders and workplaces. Frankly, I don’t think that’s going to change, nor should we expect it to. Therefore, the responsibility to change and share is on the individual  introvert.


Again, it’s not easy, but the consequence of not doing it could be detrimental to all.



While it’s easy to become our own obstacle by bemoaning the extroverted world and hanging onto the label as being an introvert,  a more fulfilling life may be to take responsibility and exercise courage to  make change happen. 


And that’s why MINING and SHINING IDEA LAB exists to help other introverted leaders contribute to the world while tapping into unrealized potential. Sign up for a 20 minute Excavation Call today using this link/

A Swarm of Lemmings:Writers' Passive Suicide and the Crisis in K-12 Literacy – Implications for Western Civilization

By James Robinson • March 7, 2026
A swarm of lemmings continues their march to the proverbial sea, attracted by a temporary vision of sun and beauty, but ultimately distracted by that vision—thus, they fall off the cliff in a passive suicide. It wasn’t a conscious decision. Their deaths were the consequence of distraction alone. In this allegory, the lemmings are writers (and many in publishing) who ignore the erosion in elementary schools and K-12 education. Writers may create brilliant work, but if students graduate without the skills to engage deeply, our audience vanishes. From a cultural perspective, this is alarming—and the stakes extend to the health of Western civilization itself. In my day job, as Executive Director of a small non-profit, I oversee a pre-K program, a charter school, and our efforts to revitalize a publishing company re-dedicated to high-quality children's books, which we're strongly considering. These trends hit close to home: we're building foundations early because the data shows the stakes are high—not just for individuals, but for the shared knowledge, critical reasoning, and civic discourse that have sustained Western democratic traditions for centuries. Key trends: Average Grade Level of Books Sold Now vs. 1950: Decline Toward Grade 5–7 Bestsellers today often score 5th–7th grade on Flesch-Kincaid (many 4th–6th for broad appeal), with simpler sentences and vocabulary to match declining adult reading stamina. Mid-20th-century works frequently demanded more (closer to 7th–9th in analyses), reflecting a market shift toward accessibility amid falling literacy. Didactic vs. Non-Didactic vs. Classics: Effects on Brain Development Narrative-driven reading (non-didactic stories or classics) sustains broader brain activation—engaging language, empathy, memory, and connectivity regions more effectively than passive or overly didactic methods. Neuroscience shows immersive storytelling promotes neuroplasticity and deeper neural pathways, while fragmented/instructional approaches may limit sustained engagement and cognitive depth needed for complex literature. If Trends Continue: What Will Texts Look Like in the Future—4th Grade? Pleasure reading has plummeted ~40% over 20 years (daily readers from 28% peak in 2004 to 16% in 2023); adult literacy scores dropped sharply (many below 6th grade); NAEP reading scores remain at historic lows. Unchecked, popular texts could simplify to 4th-grade or lower: basic vocabulary, short sentences, reduced nuance—eroding space for sophisticated writing. These declines threaten more than literacy: they undermine the foundations of Western civilization. Deep reading fosters critical thinking, empathy, and shared cultural references essential to informed citizenship and democratic debate. As reading wanes, societies risk shallower discourse, greater susceptibility to manipulation, weakened civic engagement, and a fraying of the reflective reasoning that has driven progress, innovation, and self-governance in the West. This isn't inevitable. Writers and creators bring storytelling, imagination, and engagement that schools and early programs need most. Call to Action: Get involved in schools and early education. Ask kids about the books you remember reading when you were a kid– The Oddyssey, Of Mice and Men, Leaves of Grass. Advocate for narrative-rich curricula, or support initiatives like ours in pre-K and charter settings. Or send me an email, I'd love to chat. When we relaunch our website in the summer, we'll have some exciting news. We have a lot of work to do-- and we're all learning from it.

Venturing into the Courage Gap, #1

By James Robinson • February 21, 2026
Pushing and Pulling The "push" connotes aggression whereas the "pull" connotes invitation. The "push" is a criticism, and the "pull" is coffee and advice at a nice cafe selected just for the advisee. Both are needed in different measures, at different times and often towards the same ends. In 2024, I engaged in a sabbatical to step back, read, study, think, and reflect about schools and leading through the pandemic. It was a very prolific period. However, what made it prolific was the "push"-- spending days reviewing data and learning to criticize the sector I worked in. The Courage Gap Talks document those learnings, in the most lo-fi way. They're ugly, but they inform the work and solutions we're imlpementing at the park, where our goal is to "pull" folks into a transformative educational envioronment. Originally, they were called "Career-Suicide Notebooks", the original plan being to walk away from education all together. Instead, what I learned will inform my work for years. It's been said that Buddhist monks can see the world in a grain of rice. After being immersed in education for several years, I see the world in a school ecosystem. Thus, schools enter my creative work and the way I think about creativity enters my work in schools. The first video is called 33% and it looks at the proficiency scores of 4th grade students on the NAEP Assessment. Additionally, it looks at the broad economy that works to maintain the status quo.