I'm Maura Aronsmeli, and this is The Anxious Achiever.

We look at stories from business leaders who've dealt with anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges, how they fell down, how they pick themselves up, and how they hope workplaces can change in the future.

Today, two leaders who learn that being unusually transparent and vulnerable

is a fantastic way to motivate people and drive positive change.

We'll hear about the world of tech startups and burnout from Buffers Joel Gascoigne a little

later. But my first guest is Brooklyn Bro President Eric Adams.

Now, one of the most stressful places anyone can work is in politics and government.

There's managing different

interest groups, constituents, budgets, the media. It's a lot, even in a time that's less about

life and death than during the coronavirus pandemic. And right now, as I tape in the U.S., we are living in trauma, ripped more raw every day.

The death of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and unfolding acts of police brutality demand

conversation and acknowledgement at work. But race is difficult for most of us to talk about.

So I'm working on a special show that will try to provide some guidance. We taped this episode before the protests around policing and racial inequality in the U.S. erupted in full force. But it's important to note that Eric Adams is a former police officer himself.

He advocates now for the physical and mental health of his constituents, and that includes something you might not expect. Meditation. He said, I wish I had started meditating when I was a

police officer because I went through my career with a misaligned center.

Eric Adams is the current Brooklyn Borough President in New York.

He served as an officer in the New York City Police Department for 22 years,

and then was a Democratic State Senator in the New York Senate.

And in November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President,

the first African American to hold the position. He was re-elected in November 2017.

Mr. Adams joined me to speak about leadership, crisis, and meditation.

Thank you. Well, first of all, just tell us what life is like in your district right now.

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