Hello Reader,

Since launching my latest podcast episode on ghosting, I've had a number of people reach out to talk with me about this exact topic.

One of them was a business leader who landed a massive client early in her company's life. Within months, the workload was so intense she'd hired a handful of contractors just to keep up. But she wasn't prospecting or diversifying - she was all-in on this one client because they demanded all-in attention.

And then one day, mid-project, the manager she'd been working with went silent. No explanation. No heads-up. Just nothing. Two years later, she still hasn't received an explanation from that person.

You'd think the worst part would be the silence itself - the unanswered emails, the follow-ups that went nowhere. It wasn't. The worst part was having to let go of the people she'd hired to handle the work - the contractors who'd rearranged their schedules, turned down other work, and believed in the momentum she was building. All because someone at a big company decided silence was easier than a difficult conversation.

She still works with that company, and occasionally with that manager. But now that she's aware of how she and her firm were treated, she handles this client very cautiously.
But the damage to her business was immediate: she had to let her contractors go, cut costs everywhere, and spend that year in survival mode instead of growth mode.

If you're a business leader at an enterprise company and you genuinely believe you support small business, please understand this: when you ghost a vendor mid-project, you're not just stepping away from one engagement. You're affecting the contractors they hired because of commitments you made. You're affecting their ability to pay bills, invest in their business, and take the risks that growth requires.

The Executive Who Admitted She Ghosts

I was at an executive women's networking event last week. The room was full of senior leaders at enterprise companies - people who hold budgets, work with vendors of all sizes, and make calls about who gets hired and who gets paid. We got talking about ghosting and people's experiences with it, and one of them - a woman I respect - admitted something that took real courage. She's ghosted vendors before. More than once.

Her reason? Delivering bad news stresses her out, so she goes into hide mode. It's her coping mechanism. She knows it's not right, she knows it causes harm, but in the moment, avoidance feels easier than the discomfort of having that conversation.

I appreciated her honesty, because that's the reality of ghosting most of the time. It's not malicious. It's avoidance. It's anxiety. It's the deeply human impulse to sidestep discomfort. But that doesn't make it okay, and it doesn't erase the impact on the person left waiting for a response.

What it Actually Takes

The conversation you're avoiding is shorter and simpler than you think. "We've had to shift priorities internally and won't be moving forward with this project." Or, "Our budget got reallocated and we can't continue at this time." Or, "This isn't the right fit for us right now, but I wanted to let you know directly." That's it. Thirty seconds. One email. One phone call. And on the other end, the person you're closing the loop with can plan, pivot, and move forward instead of being left guessing and losing time they don't have.

If you're a vendor or supplier, you've lived this. If you're a client who holds the power in these relationships, you've probably done this at some point - even if you didn't mean to. Either way, this conversation matters, and I break it all down in my podcast.

NEW PODCAST on Professional Ghosting

I dive much deeper into all of this in this week's podcast.

Ghosting affects nearly everyone in professional life, and yet the people who do it almost always underestimate how much it costs the person on the receiving end. In this episode, I'm breaking down what's really behind it, what it takes from people, and the simple phrases that make closing the loop far easier than most people think. I also cover what to do when you're the one being ghosted.

Your Move

So the next time you're tempted to go silent on someone - or you find yourself on the receiving end - remember: it's almost never just about the one conversation you're avoiding. Hit reply and tell me your ghosting story - I'd love to hear it.

And if you're not following Boost Academy on Instagram yet, that's where I share these conversations in real-time: ​
@boostacademyofexcellence.

Warm regards,

Trina Boos
​
Founder & CEO
Boost Academy of Excellence
​boostacademyofexcellence.com​