Lonely at the top

It can be lonely as an executive. Advice from others:

“One thing I personally have to fight is that I’m pretty focused when I’m working and have to remind myself to slow down and bullshit some.”
“Think about specific people I can ask for help. I need to ask for help more anyway and reaching out to people is a great way to be vulnerable and build the relationship.”
“Letting myself play a little bit in our fun Slack channels like Random. I’m a a playful person and working at a fully remote company this is the equivalent of hallway conversations about random things.”
“Looking outside the company for people I can talk shop - as the head of a function, being able to talk to other people with similar jobs is so very helpful to get perspective and see how many of my problems are universal, not just a result of my failings. I have no guilt about taking a 2 hour lunch in order to meet up with someone and get some real human time.”
Use online communities, or create your own community somewhere.
Lunches with former coworkers is one of my favorite things.
“Look for your sounding board buddy, ideally at a similar level if only one, or per topic area like people leadership, process, cross-functional and exec team dynamics, and product/technical direction exploration. Ask others if they have recommendations for a good buddy for you. They might volunteer!”

You’re not alone being alone!