There was a time I walked away from a meeting and went straight to the mirror…not to check my reflection, but to catch my breath. My chest was tight, not from anything visible, but from the weight of things unsaid.
My nervous system knew long before my brain caught up…that the way we lead, design, and communicate in tech is broken. But instead of walking away from the industry, I decided to stay, and build something softer.
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”
Brené Brown
We were taught to code like machines, lead like machines, and produce like machines. But the future of tech? It’s being built by people who feel everything.
1. Why Soft Skills Are Actually Power Skills
Somewhere along the way, “emotional intelligence” got dismissed as fluff. But in reality, EQ is the blueprint for longevity…especially in leadership.
The people I trust most in business aren’t the ones who brag about late nights or Type A hustle. They’re the ones who know when to pause. Who can read a room. Who make decisions from grounded clarity, not cortisol.
I used to be terrified of being seen as “too emotional.” Now I see that my sensitivity is what made me precise. It’s how I knew when a project was misaligned. It’s how I could name what others wouldn’t.
2. How Neurodivergent Brains Lead with EQ
As someone who lives with ADHD and autism, I pick up patterns in people before they even open their mouths. I also cry during commercials and get overstimulated by Slack notifications. It’s both a superpower and a soft edge.
In my studio, we’ve normalized asking: “What does your body need today?” We take sensory breaks. We communicate feelings before they escalate.
I didn’t build a team in spite of being neurodivergent. I built one because of it.
3. Burnout Culture Proves Hard Leadership Doesn’t Work
I’ve been in rooms full of impressive résumés and zero emotional regulation. It’s wild how many leaders can scale a startup but can’t name when they’re triggered.
Burnout, quiet quitting, team churn…these aren’t random. They’re symptoms of systems that expect people to suppress their emotions instead of work with them.
The strongest founders I know are the ones who understand nervous systems… not just numbers.
4. Designing Tech with Emotions in Mind
You know what feels revolutionary? Opening an app and not feeling immediately overwhelmed. Soft tech is real…it’s emotionally intelligent UX that anticipates your nervous system’s needs.
I love interfaces with white space, circular shapes, gentle motion, low-contrast tones. They help me breathe.
This isn’t about aesthetics…it’s about access. The more emotionally fluent our tech becomes, the more people it can hold.
5. The Rise of the Soft Founder
I used to think softness made me a liability in business. But softness is how I’ve made my best decisions. It’s what makes me safe to follow. And it’s what built a 7-figure studio with zero VC and 100% soul.
Being a soft founder means:
- Leading from emotional clarity
- Designing tech with rest and recovery in mind
- Letting honesty be more important than optics
You don’t need to abandon your ambition to lead this way. You just need to stop abandoning yourself.
I don’t want to be a girlboss. I want to be a lighthouse. Steady. Glowing. Rooted. Unbothered by the storm. What if the future of tech isn’t in our code…but in our care?
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