Vale Shelley

As I write this, it’s a little over a week since a close friend of mine passed away suddenly (you’ll be reading from a week or two into my future).

It’s hard to sit down and write an upbeat note about leadership or wellbeing today when I feel so sad – for my friend, and for her family. I’m coming through it and no doubt will be even further along by the time you read this. You know how grief works.

Almost everyone you meet has experienced the searing pain of bereavement and grief. They may be going through it acutely right now. Most often, you’d never know.

A hugely positive change I’ve seen in workplace culture over the past decade or so has been a gradual shift away from the fallacious idea that being professional means keeping life outside work from infringing in any way – particularly a life that diverges from the straight, white, male, anglo, able-bodied and mentally robust, robotic paradigm that in reality no-one lives up to all the time.

Nevertheless, I’ve found it challenging to manage how open to be over this time. I went largely offline for a week, focused on other things and deep in grief, and have felt guilty about unreturned emails and an unattended to-do list.

Turns out, I’m still carrying an internalised notion that being professional means being unstoppable. But I’m stoppable. We all are.

If you’re in a hard place and you feel like you can’t tell me, know this: you can.

Until next week,

Take care of yourself and others

Madeleine

I help accomplished professionals untangle difficult career questions so they can thrive in work and life.

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