Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Have you ever heard of a crying closet? Well, let me tell you about this. I was once asked, where's the crying closet? And you might be going, what?

Erica: And the person said, you know, that place where you go when you wanna cry at work? And at first, I laughed, but then was a little bit disturbed. Because first of all, no workplace should make you want to cry on a regular basis so much that you need a crying closet. And on the other hand, I had also left a job that did give me all of the tears and fears, so I understood that sentiment. I had what I called my crying car.

Erica: But what I do wanna tell you is that I am an emotional person. I'm career driven. I'm growth minded. I'm passionate. I'm ambitious, and I'm also a crier.

Erica: There. I said it. I cry when I'm frustrated. I cry when I'm angry. I cry when I'm disappointed.

Erica: And that doesn't make me any less competent or capable. You know what it makes me? It makes me human. So today, I wanna dive into emotions. And specifically, I wanna talk about showing emotions at work, and I want to explore, is it really a bad thing?

Erica: Now in the traditional corporate world, crying at work is a huge no no. It's super embarrassing. And as a woman, we are already fighting this stigma of being too emotional.

Erica: And crying? Well, let's face it. That just adds to it. Society views these tears as a sign of weakness. And I wanna tell you that's BS.

Erica: That notion is outdated. People like me, the criers of the world, we are often passionate people who care so deeply about our work and our teams. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. And you know what? I don't think that's a bad thing.

Erica: When I think about the last time that I cried at work, and I mean, really, really cried, had to walk away crier, it was because my team had poured their heart and their souls and their time into a big project. They spent hours and hours on this one specific thing. And this project, it was going to revolutionize the way we did work. It was going to streamline things, make it easier for my team and a better experience overall. My team was so invested and so all in on this project.

Erica: And when I tell you the last step of us having this project implemented was for my leader to sign the contract. That was it. Then we were home stretch ready to rock and roll. And that last minute due to some direction from someone high above, he wasn't able to sign. He was told that he couldn't sign.

Erica: And that meant that all of the hard work, all of the hours that we spent pouring into prepping for this project, doing research, just putting other important things to the side to get to this point was done. Didn't matter. And when I tell you I was devastated, I was devastated. I had not thought about quitting until that very moment. And sometimes I'm not even sure how I made it through that grief.

Erica: I can't even tell you how many tears that I cried over this, and I wanna be clear. It wasn't the project or my boss or any reason like that that I was crying. I was crying because I was so hopeful and so excited for my team. I was so excited for all of their hard work to be paying off and to have to go back and then tell them that I'm sorry, but this isn't happening. It was so heartbreaking and yes, I cried many, many tears, but here's the deal, research supports the idea that crying can help moderate stress, stimulate thinking and promote bonding and empathy in groups when expressed appropriately.

Erica: In fact, research shows that crying engages part of the brain involved in motivation, which may stimulate thinking and problem solving. So let's go back to my moment of devastation. I let myself be upset for one week. And when I look back, I think honestly, that week was probably too long, but I spent one week being upset about it. And then I had to put on my big girl pants and get positive.

Erica: I needed to find a solution to our new reality. And my team and I, we headed back to the drawing board. Now I'm not saying that it was all rainbows and butterflies after that, but the team, we bonded over this shared grief. We came together and now a few years later, we are stronger than ever for it. And I think everyone on the team is able to say, you know what, like that really sucked, but we are better for it.

Erica: Many of them learned new skills. And as much as I hate to say it, it really was a test, a test of our patience, of our professionalism, of our resilience.

Erica: And when I found I

Erica: didn't get the job that I had built my entire career on, after falling apart, I built myself back up.

Erica: I found a new way

Erica: to go about my career and my job. And guess what? That devastating moment led me to be a ceiling breaker, which let's be real. I would not be today if that god awful situation did not happen to me. So crying at work, in my book, it's okay.

Erica: Now don't go sobbing about a breakup or a fight that you had with your partner. Some sob worthy moments. Those are not meant for your boss. But if you are disappointed in a professional project's outcome, or you are frustrated by something at work, a few tears isn't a bad thing. Tears that are sparked by a passion for ideas, frustration over obstacles, disappointment in leaders, or feeling overwhelmed, those tears demonstrate that you are invested, that you care.

Erica: So my message for you, it's twofold. First, crying is okay. It shows your passion. It does not make you too emotional. It does not make you less capable, and it does not make you a less than leader.

Erica: It makes you human. And in my eyes, these are the kind of people that I want on my team, because I know how passionate they are for our mission. And second, let yourself have that cry. I am giving you the permission to shed a few tears if you're upset. It's okay.

Erica: And it's also okay to take that moment that you need. But what you cannot do is let any frustration or disappointment keep you stuck. I have found that you just let yourself have that good cry and then start looking for a solution. Look for that next step, the path forward. That passion that might have you in tears, it's the passion that will drive you forward to success that you would never have even imagined before.

Erica: Remember, tears do not equal weakness. And when you channel them right, they can strengthen your bonds and they can strengthen your leadership. Now, before you leave me, I am crying tears of joy because I am finally announcing here that I have written a book. Yes, a real book. And you can be part of my book launch insider team by clicking the link in the show notes.

Erica: Be the first to order, get freebies galore and be my insider influencer. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this, and I hope that you are too. Talk soon, friend.