Brands today are encouraged to sound more human, more emotional, and more personal. They are asked to tell real stories and communicate in ways that people can genuinely feel. Yet inside the workplaces where these decisions are made, many professionals still hide their own emotions. They ask brands to show what they themselves are not always allowed to show. They push for vulnerability in campaigns while remaining guarded in meetings. Emotional communication is celebrated in public, but emotional expression is often treated as unprofessional in the office.
Keep It In Your Business
Phrases such as “you are being emotional” is often said casually, but it carry a subtle judgment. They suggest that emotion has no legitimate place in business and that feeling something somehow weakens professional capability. This perception quietly teaches people to detach from what they experience, as if the safest way to work is to feel less.
There is another way to see it. Emotions are part of how people understand life. As Daniel Goleman explains, emotions impulses to act. They alert, direct attention, and highlight what truly matters. Feeling something is not a mistake. It is a sign of presence, awareness, and connection.
Business often forgets this. It forgets that companies are built by individuals, not just processes or systems. These individuals think, care, overthink, react, create, and are affected by what happens around them. When people are told not to get emotional, they are asked to disconnect from the very source that gives meaning and depth to their work.
Stop Fixing Your “Error”
The stigma around emotion usually comes from misunderstanding. Emotion is frequently treated as an error, a glitch to correct, something to be fixed or hidden before it appears. The real mistake is not the feeling itself. The mistake is assuming that feeling is a problem.
Ignoring emotion does not make someone more professional. It makes them less aware, less connected, and less in tune with what truly drives people. Emotion is not the issue. Misreading it is.
Business has always been human. The more organizations honor that truth, the stronger their cultures, strategies, and results become. When emotion is recognized as a source of insight rather than a threat, workplaces become more empathetic, creative, and resilient.
At the end, if we don’t understand people and their emotions, we don’t understand business.
About the Author: Baraa Hussein
Baraa Hussein is a seasoned brand & communication strategist who has built a career at the intersection of creativity, purpose, and performance. As a Director of Brand Communication, he leads the development of impactful communication strategies that connect brand purpose with people’s real stories. His work focuses on shifting brands from traditional, message-driven approaches to modern, human-centered narratives that reflect genuine values and lived experiences.
Over the years, Baraa has shaped brand and communication strategies across agency and corporate environments, partnering with major brands in telecommunication, retail, FMCG, healthcare, and entertainment. His organizational experience at has refined his skill in translating complex business goals into simple, emotional ideas that resonate with both customers and communities. He is known for building engaged teams, leading high-complexity campaigns, and directing creative ideas and operations that deliver consistent, high-quality work.
At the core of Baraa’s leadership philosophy is a belief in patience, perseverance, and integrity. He values honesty, empathy, and human connection as foundations for strong brands and strong teams. He brings fresh perspectives to the workplace by combining analytical thinking with creative curiosity, setting clear goals and meaningful KPIs while keeping people at the center of every decision. Passionate about environments that break the norm, he favors entrepreneurial cultures that encourage experimentation, mutual respect, and authentic expression over rigid bureaucracy.
Baraa continues to advocate for communication that is both strategic and deeply human. His work and writing invite organizations to see emotion not as a weakness to hide, but as a powerful asset that can transform brands, teams, and the way business is done.
