Emotional Labor

We don’t talk enough about emotional labor in leadership. But we should. Because it’s hard. It demands presence. It demands kindness. It demands empathy and care — a combination that’s rare, and often unmeasured.

I dislike the phrase “women leadership.” It would be better to simply say a leader who happens to be a woman. Because what often distinguishes her isn’t style or strategy — it’s the emotional labor she carries, quietly and constantly. We listen when people feel lost. We stay when things are confusing. We hold space for what’s emerging, even when it’s uncomfortable. We stay with the conversation — not to fix it — but to witness it. We end the chaos with a quiet “we got this.” This is time. This is energy. This is leadership. And yet, it doesn’t show up in a metric. There’s no KPI for holding the room together.

Men, generally speaking, don’t carry this burden. “Man up.” “Grow up.” One-liners that end a conversation in seconds.

But as mothers, daughters, partners — and now, as leaders — we don’t walk away when someone isn’t okay on the inside. It’s not a crisis. It’s not a fire drill. But it matters.

When they speak, they feel lighter. And we make space for that — even if it means staying longer, working later.

Because we know: The math settles. The ROI is exponential. This is how you build trust. This is how you create safety. This is how you ensure that the hard truths shared in confidence never become currency.

And when Q4 hits, when the pressure’s on, when the stakes are high — you know who’s standing beside you. Because emotional labor may not be seen. But it is always felt.