Silence Surrenders the Message
Updated: Jul 24
An America250 Reflection on Compensation, Communication, and Organizational Trust
Crisis at Newburgh
In March 1783, active fighting in the American Revolution had largely ended, but the final peace treaty had not yet been signed. The Continental Army remained encamped at Newburgh, New York, uncertain about when it would be disbanded—and whether Congress would honor the compensation commitments made to its officers. Their pay was substantially in arrears, their promised pensions remained uncertain, and Congress had not provided a credible path toward resolution.
Their frustration was legitimate; after years of sacrifice and hardship, they questioned whether the government they had fought to establish intended—or was capable of—honoring its commitments.
The information vacuum had already acquired a voice. Anonymous messages were telling the officers how to interpret Congress’s failure—and encouraging them to act on that interpretation. Washington understood that remaining silent would not keep leadership neutral. It would leave the field to those offering a more dangerous explanation.
General Washington would not surrender to silence. He refused to allow others to define what Congress’s failure meant.
George Washington did not solve the compensation problem that day. He could not authorize the back pay. He could not personally guarantee pensions. He could not manufacture resources Congress did not have. But General Washington would not surrender to silence. He refused to allow others to define what Congress’s failure meant.
General Washington appeared before the officers at Newburgh and addressed them directly. He acknowledged their service and their grievances while urging them not to abandon the principles and institution they had spent years defending. General Washington’s speech did not replace the compensation the officers were owed.
But it preserved trust long enough for the organization to continue functioning.
That distinction matters.
Washington’s leadership in that moment was recognizing that he needed to enter the information vacuum before frustration became irreversible action. While he could not yet deliver the promised reward, he demonstrated that the officers had been heard, explained what was at stake, and made his own commitment visible.
Newburgh Conspiracy Through a behavIOHR Lens
The story of the Newburgh Conspiracy teaches us that communication is inseparable from organizational trust. It also demonstrates the relationship between behavIOHR Principle 2 (Employees Must Understand How They Are Paid) and Principle 3 (Uncommunicated Value Has NO Value.)
At Newburgh, the officers understood what they had been promised—Principle 2. What they lacked was credible communication about whether and how Congress intended to honor that promise—Principle 3. The underlying compensation failure was real. Silence allowed others to define what that failure meant.
Silence allowed others to define what that failure meant.
The relationship between Principles 2 and 3 emphasizes how critical communication is to effective human capital management; it also emphasizes why silence cannot be allowed to permeate throughout an organization.
The historical circumstances were extraordinary, but the behavioral lesson is familiar. Each year, many organizations become unusually quiet during pay-planning periods while leaders determine merit budgets, bonus outcomes, and other compensation decisions. The problem is that too often those periods stretch months rather than days.
Employees do not experience the work leadership is doing behind the scenes. They experience the silence.
Worse, once leadership leaves the vacuum unattended, it loses much of its ability to shape how employees interpret the silence.
Silence Creates Its Own Explanation
When employees do not receive information, they do not stop forming opinions. They fill the gap with whatever information is available. Now especially, the source doesn’t need to be credible. It only needs to confirm what the employee already suspects.
Employees talk to coworkers. They compare salaries. They search online. They read anonymous employer reviews. They look at job postings. They rely on partial facts, outdated information, rumors, and personal assumptions.
When employees do not receive information, they do not stop forming opinions.
If an employee already believes the company is underpaying people, an unexplained salary decision may reinforce that belief. If employees expect an annual bonus in the first quarter but hear nothing during the second half of the preceding year, leaders should assume employees are already forming conclusions about whether the plan will pay. Likewise, if the annual merit cycle is approaching without any communication about timing, budgets, or process, employees may interpret the silence as delay, indecision, or inaction.
If benefit costs are changing and management does not explain why, employees may conclude the organization simply chose to shift more expense onto them. If a compensation review is delayed without explanation, employees may assume no work is being done.
Silence is rarely interpreted as neutral. Instead, employees often use it as evidence for whatever explanation already appears most plausible.
Why This Matters
Leaders may choose to remain silent because they believe communication should happen only after every decision has been finalized. They may fear stirring the pot and presume that their silence is the best way to manage expectations.
But the lesson General Washington teaches us all about the Newburgh Conspiracy is this: Silence surrenders more than the message; it temporarily abdicates leadership to whoever is willing to fill the vacuum. General Washington showed us all that employees do not always need a complete answer. They need credible expectations.
Silence is often the most damaging thing a company and its leaders can do while misinformation and/or assumptions swirl about. That is why open and frequent communication about pay is essential—especially when it pertains to a regular cycle matter.
Acting as a visible representative of leadership he reaffirmed the shared purpose that connected the officers, Congress, and the country they had fought to establish. George Washington is remembered for many achievements, but the consequences of his intervention at Newburgh were unmistakable. In addressing the officers directly, General Washington helped prevent a compensation crisis from becoming a crisis of military authority and civilian government.
He demonstrated that while leadership may not always have a final answer—it cannot afford to leave the information vacuum unattended.
Key Takeaways
Silence is still communication. When leaders do not explain what is happening, employees assign meaning to the absence of information. Silence creates a message, but not one leadership can reliably control.
Communication does not require a final answer. Employees can manage uncertainty more effectively when leaders explain what is known, what remains undecided, and when additional information will be provided.
Information vacuums never remain empty. Rumor, assumption, and outside sources will fill the space leadership leaves behind—particularly during recurring events such as pay reviews, performance cycles, and bonus decisions.
Timing shapes perception. Communication must begin before employees start searching elsewhere for answers.
Communication supports action; it does not replace it. Acknowledging a compensation issue cannot substitute for resolving it, but silence can make a legitimate problem considerably worse.
The behavIOHR Executive Lens
Silence is still communication—but it is a message leadership cannot control.
Leaders may not always have a final answer, but they must enter the information vacuum before someone else defines what their silence means.
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