If you’re not sure when the right time is to walk away, Teigen provided a great answer in her final tweet.
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This week, Chrissy Teigen left Twitter after 10 years on the platform. Before deleting her account, she tweeted, “Hey. For over 10 years, you guys have been my world. I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends … But it’s time for me to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.”
Teigen’s experience, words and exit from Twitter provide valuable lessons to those in a leadership role. Big brands and entrepreneurs continue to navigate uncertain times and redefine the future of work. These lessons can help us to make better decisions as we move forward into a world where the line between work life and personal life has become significantly blurred.
Related: My Company Is Leaving Facebook. And So Can Yours.
1. Everyone isn’t doing fine
It’s easy to think that people are OK when they’e not talking about their struggles, but that doesn’t mean they are. In fact, a WHO-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity. You may not know what your team members are struggling with personally. Be approachable, encourage an open dialogue about work-life struggles, and exercise compassion.
2. Ask yourself if you’re the leader you intended to be
Take time to evaluate how you interact with others in your role as a leader. You can always push the pause button on your leadership approach and develop a new strategy. Ensure that your attitude and behavior align with who you are and who you want to be as a person. We can’t enjoy what we do if we lose ourselves in the process.
3. Vulnerability inspires better questions
In order to improve our leadership skills, we need to have clarity about where we need to put in the work. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable, we discover things about ourselves that we may have overlooked. That provides better insight into our core values, strengths and weaknesses. Better questions lead to great solutions.
4. Fear develops courage
Although fear can be associated with negative emotions, it can lead to positive outcomes. Teigen feared making people angry and wanted people to like her. Rather than continue to feel this way, she found the courage to leave the social media platform. In her final tweet, she said, “My life goal is to make people happy. The pain I feel when I don’t is too much for me. I’ve always been portrayed as the strong clap-back girl but I’m just not. My desire to be liked and fear of pissing people off has made me somebody you didn’t sign up for, and a different human than I started out here as! Live well, tweeters. Please know all I ever cared about was you!!!”
Related: Twitter: We Know the Platform Is Toxic. Please Help Us Fix It.
5. It’s OK to walk away
Saying no or walking away from something that isn’t working is OK — even after investing a decade of time into an activity or process. It can be difficult to determine what to walk away from and when to take that step. If you’re struggling with how to make that decision, Teigen provided a great answer in her final tweet when she concluded, “This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.”