MAY 2026
Sometimes, it takes a series of quiet moments 
to relearn how to be bold and brash and take 
up space. That’s how it happened for Jesse 
Israel, founder of The Big Quiet movement 
and keynote speaker at Gartner’s IAM summit 
last December.
He shared how, at 14, he was the unapologetic 
ringleader of his class, but threats of expulsion 
and external pressure forced him to make 
himself smaller. By college, Israel was terrified 
of public speaking and commanding a room as 
he once did. 
Israel knew he wasn’t living as his full self, noting, 
“Maybe some of you can relate to this feeling of 
knowing that you’ve got more power inside of 
you, more potential to live up to.”   
“Every person has an enormous well of power 
and potential,” Israel said. “We all have unique 
gifts, abilities and strengths we are meant to 
be putting into our work, our families and 
our communities. But what I’ve seen from 
working with thousands of leaders is that most 
of us [have access to] a tiny fraction of what’s 
available inside, which limits our impact on the 
world outside.” 
“The leaders, teams and organizations that were 
really thriving were not making more noise,” 
Israel noted. “They had learned to effectively 
be quiet.” 
The Power of Quiet
“What blocks us from being able to access what’s 
within and live up to our potential is noise,” Israel 
said. He identified three types of noise: in the 
world, in our heads and in our bodies. 
Israel developed a three-step process to quiet 
the noise. 
Step 1: Make Space
Creating moments of quiet amid the chaos 
gives you an advantage. “Getting quiet when 
everybody else was loud gave me an edge,” 
Israel said.  
“When you practice making space, you gain the 
advantage that few people have,” Israel added.  
Step 2: Choose Connection  
Israel said reconnecting with others helped him 
rediscover himself. 
“As human beings, when the noise in our 
heads gets louder and we start overthinking, 
our tendency is to push away [from 
others] and isolate ourselves, keeping us 
from the thing we actually need and want 
most — people. When you notice yourself 
isolated, the act of courage is to take a step 
towards connection.” 
“If you really want to cut through the noise 
in your life and expand what’s possible, you 
must assign meaning to what you do. It’s got 
to be about something greater than yourself,” 
Israel said.  
Step 3: Share Your Genius 
For Israel, reclaiming his strengths meant 
embracing the qualities that once got him 
into trouble. 
“What I’ve seen consistently is that when 
leaders, organizations and teams take the time 
to get clear about what their own genius 
is, on an individual basis, and then map out 
responsibilities based on the genius of those 
individuals, they become unstoppable,” 
Israel said. 
“Oftentimes, stepping into the ‘Zone of Genius’ 
gets uncomfortable. As a result, we oftentimes 
shy away. But on the other side of fear and 
discomfort is our full potential. These small acts of 
courage are required for us to become the person 
we’re meant to be,” Israel said. 
“You don’t have to change who you are to 
become more powerful. You simply have to 
claim who you’ve always been.” 
UNLOCK YOUR 
INNER STRENGTH
WITH JESSE ISRAEL.
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Dell UltraSharp 52” 
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Photo courtesy of JesseIsrael.com
The Tech Cumulus
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