William,

Thanks for not just taking a bold "all crying is OK!" stand here... I agree that emotion is part of who we are as humans and therefore as leaders and should be welcome in the workplace to the extent that it helps communicate (so many things!). I also feel strongly that we, as leaders, set examples in tone and attitude and should check emotional displays that do NOT contribute to communicating on some level who we are, what we're about, etc. Everyone has bad days... I don't like to bring my bad day with me to the office (a short trip for me as I work from my home!) and I don't like it when others do, either. It's a distraction for everyone and reduces focus on There are exceptions, of course... serious events happen to all of us at one time or another and there's not always a way to separate what we're going through from our work life.

Definitely an issue worth discussing!