Is business ghosting a thing?

My friend got ghosted again.

This time the perpetrator was not a date, but a potential business associate. Two weeks into project planning, and one day away from finalising everything, he suddenly disappeared without a trace.

She emailed him a couple of times, called, left him a message. Nothing. The ex-business associate is active on social media, others have spoken to him and she knows he is well. He is simply not talking to her.

Ten days of radio silence have gone by, and she is wondering if she has “done anything wrong to deserve this”.

She runs through the events and it seems clear that she has not. He must have changed his mind on following through with the project, but he is not saying it.

Many years ago, I used to think that ghosting was something that happened only in the world of dating apps. Then it happened to me. I got ghosted by people who were once close, and then it happened in my professional world too.

‘We cannot not communicate’, so what does ghosting tell us?

I must admit, I have never understood this social phenomenon. Perhaps it has become more popular in the last decade, or maybe I am noticing it more because now it has a name.

I used to get mad about people disappearing without an explanation. I used to ask: how hard can it be to speak up? Nowadays I tell myself that ghosts are just scared to face an uncomfortable situation head-on.

Do not get me wrong. In a society where we are bombarded by tons of unsolicited communication, it is wise to be discerning. Yet, if someone has been investing enough of their time, ghosting is still outside the boundaries of social grace.

We respond to events according to our model of the world. But sometimes we also respond according to the fear of standing in our own truth.

So, to my lovely friend, you are a great professional and a very generous being. You did not deserve to be ignored.

And if you are the ghost and made this far into the article, I have an invite for you.

I would like you to ask yourself:

· Where else in your life is ghosting showing up?

· In which other areas of your life do you struggle with speaking up?

· Where else in your life are you making yourself invisible?

I would love to know your thoughts on this ??