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During a conversation on my mental toughness podcast, Past CEO of YUM brands, David Novak, shared a leadership practice that stuck with me: surface what's not being said.

It reminded me of a term I learned from Travis Smith: Mokita.

Mokita comes from the Kivila language of Papua New Guinea and means "the truth everyone knows but agrees not to talk about."

The fewer number of Mokita’s that exist within an organization, the stronger and better performing the organization!

Every organization or team has a Mokita.

It might be a strategy that isn't working, tension between team members, or a difficult decision everyone knows needs to be made.

The challenge is that silence is often mistaken for agreement when, in reality, people have simply decided it isn't worth the risk to speak up.

David referenced Patrick Lencioni's idea of "mining for conflict."

Strong leaders don't avoid difficult conversations. They look for issues beneath the surface because unresolved problems rarely disappear on their own.

One of the most valuable questions a leader can ask is: "What are we not talking about?"

That question takes courage because the answer may be uncomfortable. It may even point back at the leader.

Mental toughness isn't only about pushing through adversity. It's creating enough trust and honesty for people to discuss what everyone already knows but nobody wants to say.

Every team, family, and organization has a Mokita.

The question is whether someone is willing to bring it into the open.

Every morning, financial news follows the same script. Headlines panic, coverage catastrophises, and somewhere inside the noise is the story that actually matters — the one that tells you where the opportunity sits, not just where the fear is pointing.

Most sources have stopped looking. The alarm is easier to sell.

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