“Thoughts, Language, and the Space In Between”

I recently wrote this in a forum on critical reasoning. As I reread it, I realized how deeply it speaks to the work I do as a leadership coach.

So I’m sharing it here, along with a reflection at the end about leadership, connection, and communication in today’s world.

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I grew up speaking both French and German, two very different languages. One tends toward the abstract and intuitive, the other toward structure and clarity. Over time, I realized I had developed a kind of “meta-language,” a hybrid way of thinking across boundaries.

Later, living and working in Thailand, I learned Thai. Like Hopi, Thai doesn’t structure time into past and future the same way. It stays grounded in the present. Once again, I immersed myself in a new logic, a different way of relating to the world.

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, our thoughts are shaped by the language we speak. My experience supports this: each language taught me to notice and express different things. But I’ve come to believe that language only partly shapes thought.

I speak, think, and work in English, a language I learned at school that became my main professional tool. Yet I’m not sure what language I dream in.

So what does this mean for shared belief, for understanding, for leadership?

Philosopher Donald Davidson challenged the idea that different languages represent distinct worldviews. He argued that for communication to happen, we must share enough beliefs for interpretation to be possible. That resonates with me.

Despite deep differences, I’ve had meaningful conversations with people whose lives are far from mine. Did we share beliefs? Or did something else make understanding possible?

I believe it’s the latter. Communication came from something beneath language, what I’d call a human ground. A kind of “language of the heart.”

Christian de Chergé and Mohammed once described le puits (“the well”): a shared source where different people can draw water, without erasing their differences.

So, does language shape thought?

Yes, but not entirely.

Like Sapir-Whorf, I believe language shapes what we notice. Like Davidson, I believe understanding across difference is possible. And like anyone who’s sat in silence with another human being, I believe there’s something beyond language that still connects us.

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As a leadership coach, this is more than theory.

Today’s leaders don’t just speak across time zones: they speak across languages, cultures, and belief systems.

That’s why coaching isn’t about helping people say the right thing.

It’s about helping them be the right thing. And listen from the right place.

Because when language and belief hit their limits, what remains is presence.

And from that space, connection becomes possible, trust becomes real, and Leadership becomes human.

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#LeadershipDevelopment #Coaching #CrossCulturalCommunication #SapirWhorf #Davidson #Presence #GlobalLeadership