We need to talk about … ghosting …
Ghosting is not just a dating fad … it’s alive and well in the corridors of commerce and power … and it sucks!
There’s an alarming trend I’ve noticed in the business and professional world where executives and entrepreneurs ghost meetings, colleagues, emails and messages …
The problem is that we live in a world where our bubbles and spheres of influence overlap.
There’s no knowing if the person you ghosted a few months back could be the very person you need to get your new brand over the line, or the same person who’ll be gracing the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine in days to come.
Here’s a real life example:
4 years ago, a young woman pitched a tech investment concept to one of Silicon Valley's leading angel investment vehicles for female innovators raising funding for their capital efficient tech startups. They’ve invested over $100M+ into startups across the country and knowing this, she prepared for weeks, practiced infront of the mirror, 'acted-as-though' and believed.
She was subsequently devastated when following the meeting, this group of highly accomplished, revered women who just listened to her lay out the idea and path to profitability, rejected it and called it outlandish. And subsequently ghosted her.
Fast forward to 2019. And the receipt in her inbox of an invitation to be a judge at a major tech event in Silicon Valley ALONGSIDE the VERY WOMEN who ghosted her when she pitched 4 years ago.
She was not pitching anymore - due to the wild success of the very same idea that had been rejected. She now had a seat at the table.
How do I know this story? The young woman in it is my sister.
I see it this way. Everyone in the professional world is on a multi-way professional escalator; moving up or down their career ladder. So while it may look like the person you’re ghosting is below you on the opposite career escalator, they actually could be on their way up their ladder … while you could be on your way down, God forbid.
Ghosting them could be to your detriment - because they may not take kindly to your snub, and when you may need them the most, you’ll get snubbed too.
Ultimately, professional ghosting speaks a lot about character of a person and more importantly, a leader. It speaks to a lack of long term vision and heart for people.
Brand leaders who truly embrace others and treat others with kindness and consideration tend to have an enduring legacy.
Take the time to return an email, even if it’s a gracious let down. Have a drink with that employee whose been asking for some time in your busy calendar. Respond to that graduate who been respectfully asking you to be their mentor.
This doesn’t mean becoming a doormat to everyone who walks your way and asks for your time. it means acknowledging them with a response, even if it’s gentle no, with grace and consideration.
Because you never know where their path is going to take them next, and because ultimately people will remember how you made them feel and reward you accordingly.
Think on it.
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