Vulnerability has a PR problem. Thought leaders like Brené Brown and others have brought the word into the C-suite and demonstrated how vulnerability is a necessary component of great leadership, but the word might also make you cringe. In your mind, you may have linked it to being perceived as weak, or think that being vulnerable means oversharing.
In Brown’s own words here on LinkedIn:
Here’s what surprised me the most: The greatest barrier to courageous leadership is not fear. In fact, some of the bravest leaders we interviewed told us that they experience fear every day. The biggest barrier to daring leadership is how we respond to our fear — it’s our armor that gets in the way.
The thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that we use to protect ourselves when we aren’t willing and able to rumble with vulnerability move us out of alignment with our values, corrode trust with our colleagues and teams, and prevent us from being our most courageous selves.
I attended the inaugural Fireside Chat recently as a member of The Inner Circle by Startup Snapshot. Inner Circle member Stephen Stynes discussed his experience coaching founders and gave an excellent example of how one of his clients leveraged vulnerability to build trust with his team and employees. Below is how Yael Benjamin described it (you can scroll down to read the whole post):
Benjamin called it transparency, and I can see why, but the founder who was struggling with being liked and being trusted standing in front of his 60 employees presenting his leadership assessment, including weaknesses, is also an example of being vulnerable. It made him seem more human and his employees respected him for it.
I loved Benjamin’s advice to founders:
Founders: transparency about the business and transparency about yourself aren’t competing for the same job. One gives employees ground to stand on in a venture that offers little certainty to begin with. The other gives them a reason to trust you as the person leading it.
As the person in charge, it may seem desirable to look like you have everything figured out, but it also makes you seem distant and unapproachable. This would make it harder to build trust with your executive team and foster innovation throughout your company, which is exactly what is needed in today’s business environment.
I am not saying that every leader should share their leadership assessment, but I thought it was a good example of demonstrating vulnerability that led to the desired outcome.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com M on Unsplash
