The Leadership Cost of Letting Emotions Go Unspoken
I once worked closely with a Chief Growth Officer — let’s call him Mohit Sharma (name changed).
Mohit was sharp, driven, and deeply committed to building a high-performing culture. He believed in being approachable. His team joked with him, challenged him, and felt comfortable speaking their minds around him.
One of his direct reports was the Head of Branding — Shamita D’Souza (name changed). Shamita was Gen Z, outspoken, fast-moving, and refreshingly direct. On good days, her bluntness brought clarity. On most days, her sarcasm was brushed off as part of a friendly equation.
But slowly, something began to shift. Her jokes became sharper. The sarcasm stayed a little longer than necessary.
What once felt playful started feeling personal. Mohit noticed it — but he didn’t address it.
Why? Because calling it out felt awkward. Because he didn’t want to appear insecure. Because leaders often tell themselves, “I can handle this.”
So he absorbed it. Meeting after meeting. Comment after comment.
Until one day, during what should have been a routine discussion, something snapped.
Mohit exploded. The reaction was loud. Public. And completely disproportionate to the moment.
The room went silent. The damage was immediate. Shamita shut down — and not long after, she quit.
Only later did Mohit realise the real failure wasn’t the outburst. It was everything that came before it.
He had allowed irritation to build instead of addressing it early. He had mistaken emotional tolerance for emotional strength.
And when the pressure finally released, it came out as anger — not leadership.
The emotional skill that could have changed everything? Early emotional boundary-setting, without personalising the issue.
Emotionally fit leaders don’t suppress discomfort. They name it — calmly, early, and respectfully.
A simple conversation weeks earlier could have sounded like this: “I value our openness. But when sarcasm crosses a line, it affects trust. Let’s keep feedback direct, not personal.”
No blame. No explosion. Just clarity.
Emotional fitness isn’t about staying calm forever. It’s about not letting unspoken emotions pile up until they hijack your behaviour.
At SAMAKSH, we focus on building Emotionally Fit Leadership — where leaders learn to recognise emotional signals early, respond consciously, and protect relationships without compromising authority.
If this story resonated with you, DM “Emotional Fitness” to begin your journey through Mindset AKHADA (the gym for emotional fitness) or HridayVani (heart-centred conversations).
Strong leadership starts inside — long before it shows up in the meeting room.
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