Have You Been Ghosted In Your Business?

It was a workday like any other. I refreshed myself on my new client’s notes from our initial consultation. With headphones on, I looked at the clock as our start time came and went. After a few minutes, I sent a text. “Ready when you are!” No reply or incoming call. So I called. It rang and went to voicemail. 20 minutes passed and I realized I wouldn’t be hearing from him and became concerned: ‘Is he ok? Has something happened?’. I sent a concerned email and text. This was months ago, and I never heard from him again.

This was a first for me on the client front. I was talking with a business-owner friend and made mention of it. She emphatically said, “YOU TOO?! This has been happening to me with recent investor calls.”

So I casually asked some other business owners: Have you been ghosted before in your professional relationships? They all said ‘yes!’.

The term ‘ghosting’ is well-known in dating culture. You’re regularly in communication with someone, maybe even go out on a date or more, and then never hearing from him/her/them again.

My take on this is fairly straightforward: more often than not, the ghoster is choosing to avoid short-term pain (awkwardness, hurt feelings, and so on) so, therefore, says nothing. Nevertheless, the result is often confusion, hurt feelings, and extra time and energy…