If people can’t tell what you’d say about an issue without asking, your values aren’t clear yet.

Values are not what you believe privately, they are what people can predict about you. When your team cannot guess where you stand they have to keep checking, and that uncertainty tires everyone out and makes you easy to misread. Clarity here is a kindness as much as a strength.

Think of two things you will not go along with, and say one of them plainly the next time it comes up rather than letting it slide. You do not need a speech for this. Being predictable about the handful of things that matter is most of the work.