Emotions

Let’s be honest, we are all emotional wrecks right now even if we aren’t letting it all hang out.

I have been reading articles and books, listening to podcasts and movies, hanging out in Zoom rooms listening to events or conversations and the one thing that is missing is the emotional havoc that is upon us. I want to have more conversations about that.

Founders are building their companies and asking for advice but there is a huge elephant in the room. COVID-19 has cast an overwhelming blanket of anxiety over the country even though there are many idiots who seem to think that they won’t get it or it will mysteriously go away but let’s ignore them. Many jobs have been lost and probably are not coming back. We don’t really know what the economy is going to look like in the year ahead. The race issues have finally boiled to the top and it is the one spot we can all applaud but there is work ahead. Our cities are bankrupt. Need I go on?

The other night someone told me how excited they were that their friend got this amazing job on Zoom during a recession. Recession? That is one word that I haven’t heard yet describing what is happening or what is going to happen. There are so many words to describe the world right now so I am adding that into the mix.

The importance of being honest about how we are all feeling is key. CEOs and founders need to talk about this with their companies, not just once but it should be a constant open conversation. Women tend to keep everything under wraps. Men tend to ignore it. Broad generalization here but not that far from the truth.

I listened in on an event this week and nobody asked the question about how was someone able to do everything they have done while raising a family? The pressures of that 24/7 world. How they are feeling about the world ahead. What are they talking about with their companies? There was nothing about the downside. It was all about the upside.

As the world changes, and it is changing rapidly, let’s start to talk more about our emotions. Let’s ask the question about how we are doing. Let’s share the reality of leaving the Zoom room at the end of the day and feeling emotional spent, of crying, of having to be upbeat for the family, of having a hard time creating a culture through Zoom, of trying to manage kids in school, of being stressed out.

I’d like to see more of these conversations happen and more of these questions asked.

These times are insane and we spend all day talking to people as if nothing has changed, business goes on. Let’s spend some time asking each other “how are you doing” and answer honestly. We need to shrink that elephant in the room.